Philippians
Joy, that’s something you don’t see a lot of in our world today. And that's Joy, that’s something you don’t see a lot of in our world today. And that’s understandable. The circumstances of life can be very confining. We walk around with the weight of the world on our shoulders. We may feel shackled with no way out; no hope. At times our plight is due to nothing we have done. And at times, we are suffering the consequences of our sinful choices. Natural disasters, threat of war, injustices, the economy, terrorism, illness and disease, politics, family and relational breakdowns topped off with the ever advancing changes in our bodies due to aging, all make joy a very distant thought. But what if I told you there was a way to live above life’s circumstances? What if I told you there was a way to transcend and overcome the hardships of life? What if I told you there was a way to actually have joy in the midst of such circumstances? It’s true; God offers joy to help us live above the circumstances in life.
The night before Jesus went to the cross in the middle of His teaching on the Holy Spirit, Jesus said to His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Joy is linked closely to the fruit of the Spirit which is love (Gal. 5:22). What Jesus was teaching His disciples was that when the Spirit came He would produce joy in them. There is “joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). It is the Spirit that brings Jesus’ joy to us. And the Spirit inspired letter of Paul to the Philippians helps us to define joy and show us its incredible value in life. Paul was inspired to write this letter from a Roman jail cell and yet he was able to write it joyfully and exhort his readers to be joyful as well. If you’re going through hard times or just feel like there’s something missing in your life, Philippians is a study for you. Come discover Jesus’ Joy. You’ll never be the same.
