Remarkable Joy in the Lord
When Pete was a newly converted follower of Christ in Birmingham, a Campus Crusade minister came to his church to speak at at his Wednesday night prayer meeting. He said, “I’m so excited to be a follower of Jesus Christ.!” This was the first time Pete had heard this biblical message about rejoicing in the Lord. His conservative church had never taught him the verse that says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.”
Dennis in our Irvine Band of Brothers wrote a letter to God. God’s answer came back to him at 2:00 in the morning. The letter from God said, “Dennis you are my son whom I have watched over since you were a child. I saw you put on your armor. It’s now time for you to put away your armor and to take up my armor. The life I’ve called you to is not only about the destination, I’ve also called you to rejoice in the journey.”
A letter from God doesn’t condemn us. Our Father reminds us that he loves us and gives us a hope and encouragement to walk in the newness of spiritual life.
Have you ever told anyone that you love being a Christian? When we walk with him in fellowship, five reasons why we love our life in Christ should easily come to mind. The remarkable joy of the Lord overwhelms us when we abide with him and within him.
The book of Philippians is Paul’s letter of remarkable joy. Paul and Silas went to Philippi and met a group of people who had gathered by the riverside to pray. Lydia a seller of purple fabric who was well respected in her community received Paul’s message of salvation along with her whole household. She invited Paul and Silas to stay at her house while they were in Philippi to preach the gospel.
Paul and Silas cast out a devil spirit from a slave girl whose masters used her to tell fortunes. When her masters realized that their means of income was gone, they stirred up the crowd in the marketplace against Paul and Silas. Then they complained to the city leaders and had them thrown into jail. Paul and Silas were beaten in the prison’s inner chamber. In the middle of the night Paul and Silas sang hymns of joy. A miraculous earthquake opened the doors of the jail. The jail keeper knew that he would be tortured and then executed for allowing prisoners to escape so he drew his sword to kill himself. Then Paul said, We’re all here, don’t harm yourself! That night Paul and Silas led the Philippian jailer to Christ along with his household.
It’s important to reflect on times of God’s remarkable joy. Sometimes these moments of joy punctuate life’s trials and tribulations. Pete recently found a keepsake box that his mother had saved while she was alive. Inside the box, he found a box of clippings that his wife Suzan had kept. One was a journal entry that Suzan had written from Mexico before she came to North Carolina to tell Pete about her new beau Armando she had met in Mexico.
In one of the letters Suzan had written, she mentioned that she wanted to keep dating both Armando and Pete. When she came to North Carolina to break the news, Pete had read the Bobby Richardson story and had dedicated his life to the Lord. He had prayed, “Lord, I know I’m not the man you meant for me to be. Please, Lord, make me that man.” When she said to Pete, “I’ve found a new beau in Mexico,” she was taken aback by Pete’s gracious response. She expected Pete to erupt in a jealous rage like he had done so many times before when they dated at Auburn. Pete simply said, “I’ll pray for you.” She said to Pete, “I want to date both you and Armando.” Pete said, “I may be a new Christian, but even I know there’s something wrong with that picture.” She was confused and said, “maybe I’ll move here to NC to be with you.” Pete said, ”that’s not going to happen.” She said, “then why don’t we just get married?” They were married five weeks later. She wrote him a letter from Mexico that said, I love the man you’ve become and I know it’s because of HIM. She had seen the newfound joy in Pete’s heart.
According to Philippians 1, “PAUL and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,”
In verse 21 Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Paul’s joy was for Christ to be glorified. Joy is the major theme of the book of Philippians. In this book, Bible commentator Warren Wiersby says that there are five thieves that will steal your joy. In the first chapter, the thief is circumstances. Paul’s circumstance was imprisonment. He had been falsely accused of starting a riot for preaching the gospel. Paul said, whether in weakness or in strength, in strife and contention, or any adversity, my joy is in the Lord.
If we harbor resentment because others have violated our rights and we feel that we’ve been wronged, this resentment bank will steal our joy. Joy is only in the Lord. When we focus on the joy of the Lord, Joy will displace resentment and our resentment bank will empty out.
When we turn our hearts to the Lord in prayer, this will concentrate our joy in the Lord. Prayer is aligning our hearts with God’s heart. Prayer is confessing God’s word to the point that His word is our word. Prayer is believing that the Lord is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Prayer is seeking the Blessor instead of the blessing.
Paul said, count it all joy when you fall into tribulation. And let tribulation have her perfect wrork that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing. He said, whether life or death or tribulation or distress, my joy is in the Lord. Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning. We find our Joy in the Lord despite the pain of circumstances. As Suzan often said, Joy is not the absence of pain. Rather, joy is the presence of the Lord.
Therefore Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice…” that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael