A Challenge to Choose Joy

When the Apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Philippians, he was in prison. No, not visiting someone there; he was a prisoner. He had been imprisoned for His faith. He was weary. He thought He was going to die. It was definitely not His most exciting times. But he rejoiced and encouraged the church in Philippi to rejoice. In fact, there were people who did things to make him hurt more in his sorry state (Philippians 1:15-18). They were preaching the gospel with the intent to make Paul jealous that they could move around freely when he could not. It must have hurt him that that was their motive, but He did not hold onto the hurt, He was only happy that Christ was being preached. A few verses before that, Paul expressed joy in the fact that his imprisonment had led to the propagation of the gospel (Philippians 1:12-14). Can you imagine that? Paul chose to see the light in his dark situation; some of which were that (1) everyone where he was knew about Christ and (2) other believers had gained confidence and boldness to share their faith. One would expect that

Paul’s imprisonment would make them cringe and hide, but no, it made them yell out about Christ more. For Paul, physical chains and limitations could not hold back his joy. In his very miserable state, he rejoiced and throughout the book of Philippians, he encouraged the Philippian believers to rejoice repeatedly. In fact, as he wrapped up his letter to them, he echoed the command twice in one verse.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. – Philippians 4:4

Isn’t it ironic that a person bound, prepared to die (not for crimes he committed, just for his faith) encourages “the free” to rejoice?

In Habakkuk 3:17-18, the Prophet Habakkuk said, "Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!"

To summarize, what the Prophet was saying was that if all his sources of livelihood or income dried up; if he had nothing to feed himself or his family, and he had no way to make money, he would still rejoice in the Lord.

This tells me something: joy is from and of the Lord. We do not rejoice because something good has happened to us, we rejoice because Christ is in us. The world can give happiness, but the world cannot give joy; and because the world cannot give joy, the world cannot take away your joy.

The joy of the believer is secured in Christ. Let the earth open her mouth, let the world around you crumble, let all the bad news that can be given come for you, you can still rejoice in the Lord.

Joy is part of the salvation package. But if you do not choose to rejoice, you will not experience it. A believer may have all the necessities of life and still wallow in sorrow and self-pity if he/she refuses to rejoice. Choosing joy is simply this: allowing God’s love to flood your heart, making Christ the center of your life and world, keeping your focus on Him alone, leaning on His strength rather than your own abilities and shortcomings, trusting Him completely in all circumstances, sharing His love with others, counting your many blessings, etc.

In the midst of a sorrowful situation and probable execution, the Apostle Paul chose joy.

Being mindful of the possibility of drought, the Prophet Habakkuk chose joy.

In the ups and downs of my everyday life, I have begun to choose joy.

Now I ask, what do you choose?

MORE POSTS