There is Joy in the Lord


"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again- rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon."
-Philippians 4:4-5

You cannot seek God and not find joy! Profound. This is what Paul wanted us to learn in Philippians. Paul would know, he wrote Philippians in 61 A.D. from Rome while imprisoned there. The purpose of the book of Philippians is to thank the Philippians and to strengthen them by showing that true joy comes from Jesus even in ones darkest hour.
We truly find joy in Jesus. Have you ever walked away from the Bible or church feeling miserable? Well, sometimes it can happen, I understand. But, in your quiet time whether you are reflecting or meditating on a passage of scripture or talking to God great joy is found, is it not? Why do you think this is?
In my opinion, I think when we really live to our fullest potential as a Christian, casting our cares of Jesus, and really seeing Him as our Savior and Shepherd who wants to take care of us we find peace. When we admit our dependency on Him rather than on ourselves, we find that the JOY of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
You see, joy does not come from outward circumstances but from inner strength. As Christians, we must not rely on what we have or what we experience to give us joy, but in Christ within us. HIS joy, is greater than life's trials. That is what we have to focus on, and why when we seek God, we will never not find joy, because he is joy, and we are no longer looking at how big the problem is, rather, we see how Big our God is!
Also realize, that superficial happiness is dependent on circumstances. The joy a Christian experiences is different, it is rooted in a person's relationship with the Lord, and it is resilient even in the midst of suffering and death. Joy comes from knowing that whatever happens, God will use everything for our ultimate good. We have to be continuously filling ourselves with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) Paul also outlines in reminding and encouraging us in the key verse for today that "the Lord is coming back." Another reason we have joy, these circumstances, trials, storms, heartaches don't last forever...King Jesus will save the day! He will come back for His children and take us home to live with Him forever where there will be no more pain, no more evil, no more sickness. But until then, we have to go on singing and finding our everlasting joy in the Lord and who He is in our lives.
So, how will you find joy in Jesus this week? Whose life can you speak into this week that need to experience joy? Something that I like to do lately is do word studies in my Bible. I'm gonna tell you what, my Bible is marked up y'all! I did a word study on "integrity" and now I'm doing one on "joy." You'll learn a lot.
Go be joyful!

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