Keep Your Joy
In his book on Philippians, Be Joyful, Warren Wiersbe states that Yeshua Messiah was a man of sorrows, and well acquainted with grief (Isaish 53:3). Yet He possessed a deep joy that was beyond anything the world could offer. As He faced a cruel death on the cross, our Lord said to His followers: These things I have spoken to you, so that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be complete (John 14:11). Those who have trusted the Master have the privilege of experiencing fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Yet few believers take advantage of this privilege. They live under a cloud of disappointment when they could be walking in the sunshine of joy. What has robbed them of their joy?
The answer to this important question is found in a letter written centuries ago. It was written by the apostle Paul (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bm – Paul’s First Missionary Journey: Paul is Sha’ul and Sha’ul is Paul) when he as a prisoner in Rome about 62 ACE, and sent to his fellow believers in Philippi, a church Paul founded on his second missionary journey (see Acts Bu – Paul’s Second Missionary Journey). One of their members, Epaphroditus, had been sent to Rome to bring a special offering to the apostle and to help him in his imprisonment (2:25-30 and 4:10-20). Paul’s letter to the Philippian church is something of a missionary “thank you” letter, but it is much more than that. It is the sharing of Paul’s secret of biblical joy! Paul mentions joy, rejoicing, or gladness at least nineteen times in the four chapters of Philippians.
The unusual thing about this letter is that there was apparently no reason for Paul to be rejoicing. He was a Roman prisoner and his case was coming up shortly. He might be acquitted or he might be beheaded! Acts 28:30-31 indicates that he was a prisoner in his own home, but he was chained to a Roman soldier and not permitted to preach in public. The apostle had wanted to go to Rome as a preacher (Rom 1:13-16); instead, he arrived as a prisoner. And, unfortunately, the believers in Rome were divided. Some were for him and some were against him. In fact, some of the foolish believers wanted to make things more difficult for him.
Yet, in spite of the danger and discomfort, Paul overflowed with joy. What was the secret of his joy? The secret is found in another word that is often repeated in Philippians: It is the word “mind.” Paul uses the word mind ten times, and also uses the word “think” five times. Add the time he uses the word “remember” and you have a total of sixteen references to the mind. In other words, the secret to your joy is the way you think, your attitude. After all, attitude determines outcome. As we think, so we are (Proverbs 23:7). Philippians is a believers’ psychology book, based solidly on good Bible doctrine. It is not a shallow self-help book that assures us that “everything’s going to turn out okay.” It’s a book that explains the mind that we must have if we are going to have joy in a world filled with trouble.
The best way to get the total picture of the book is to first discover the four “thieves” that rob us of our joy, then determine the kinds of attitudes that we must have in order to capture and conquer these thieves.
1. Circumstances: Most of us must confess that when things are going our way, we feel a lot happier, and are much easier to live with. But have you ever stopped to consider how few of life’s circumstances are really under our control? We have no control over the weather, the traffic, or over the things people say and do. The person whose happiness depends on ideal circumstances is going to be miserable most of the time. The poet Byron (1788-1824) wrote, “Men are the sport of circumstances.” And yet here is the apostle Paul in the worst of circumstances, writing a letter saturated with joy.
2. People: All of us have lost our joy because of people: what they are, what they say, and what they do. (And no doubt we ourselves have contributed to making someone else unhappy. It works both ways.) But we have to live and work with people; we cannot isolate ourselves and still exercise our spiritual gifts and live to the glory of Messiah. We are supposed to be salt and light in this world (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Df – You are the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World). But sometimes our saltiness becomes bitter and our light grows dim because of other people. Is there a way to have joy in spite of other people?
3. Things: What thieves they can be. Yet, the Master said: Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own (Lk 12:15). In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua warned against laying up treasures on this earth (Mt 6:19). Things are not safe, they do not last, and they never satisfy. Yet most people today think that their joy comes from the things that they own. “Whoever dies with the most things wins,” is the philosophy of the world. In reality, things can rob us of the only kind of joy that really lasts.
4. Worry: This is the worst thief of all. How many people have been robbed of peace and fulfillment because of worry? In fact, worry even has physical consequences, and while medicine can remove the symptoms, it cannot remove the cause. Worry is an “inside job.” You can buy sleep at the drug store, but you can’t buy rest. If Paul had wanted to worry, his present situation would have been a good time to do it. He was a political prisoner. His friends in Rome were divided in their attitude toward his case. He had no missions board supporting him and no Legal Aid Society defending him. But in spite of all these difficulties, Paul did not worry! Instead, he writes a letter filled with joy, and tells us how to stop worrying.
How do we capture these thieves from stealing the joy that is rightfully ours in Messiah? The answer is that we must cultivate the right mindset. Since outlook determines outcome, the attitude of mind that we cultivate will determine our joy or lack of it. In the four chapters of Philippians, Paul describes four attitudes of mind that will produce joy in spite of circumstances, people, and things that will keep us from worrying.4
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