5 Steps towards finding more JOY.

Colossians 15b-17

And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Some days, I wake up with a headache, my house is a mess, work is hectic, the car runs out of gas AND gets a flat tire, in the rain, and I am bone drenched in highway crud and weariness.  Some days I really don't feel like praising God for anything.  I really don't. 

I was having one of those migraine days when I said to a friend of mine "Do you ever feel so tired and worn out that you just plaster a smile on your face to get through the day?" and she didn't smile and nod or agree with my self pity, instead she looked me dead in the eyes and said "You know, that's a choice" and it was a little shocking.  So she continues, "Can I pray with you right now?"  I nod, we pray, she encourages.  She isn't judging or angry, she's pointing out the fact that I choose to indulge feelings, to let them rule my day, or to reject them and choose truth.
I look at the life of the woman who tells me to choose joy.  If anyone had a reason to choose self-pity, anger or hostility towards God, it would be her. Her life is marked with loss, yet she sees me, long faced because I'm tired, and encourages me. She encourages me. Who am I that this woman should spend her time encouraging me? Yet she does. 

 Phiippians 2:1-18NASV

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

   So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

"make my joy complete"  Paul is in jail.

What on Earth could make his joy complete? Does he ask for freedom? A hot meal? A comfortable bed? Nope - He asks that people will love each other, be united in one purpose and will put others before themselves.  Why? So that they will be happy.  His concern, the thing that will bring him joy, while in jail facing death, is seeing his brothers and sisters in Christ grow in their faith to the point that they can rejoice no matter their circumstances and share that joy with each other. 

Read the book of Philippians, read it from the perspective of someone in prison.  Does it sound angry? Is it drenched in woe and self pity? No.  In fact, it is a letter which encourages the reader to find joy, to rejoice, 16 times in four short chapters.  

Why would a man in prison send encouragement to the rest of the world? and How can we have JOY in-spite of our circumstances? He tells us. 

#1 - Encouragement in Christ -  "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion..."

Paul is asking a rhetorical question here, but he makes the point that we have encouragement through Christ and his love for us and our freedom from sin!  We talked about this on Day 4 of our study. Encouragement is found in Christ - but remember what that means.  Day 1 we learned that through Jesus Christ all of creation was made, so finding something to be joyful about in creation, a beautiful sunset, a sunny day, time with family or friends, these are all joys found in and through Christ. 

#2 -  Serve others - "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests,but also for the interests of others."

It seems counter-intuitive to spend time serving others when you yourself are in need. Maybe it is knowing that there is someone else worse off that you, or maybe it is becoming humble, but service leads to a happy heart. Service pulls our focus away from our own lives and our own troubles and forces us outside of ourselves to look after another's happiness, another's troubles.  It makes us lay down the part of ourselves that focuses on our lack, even momentarily, and chose to focus on the life of another. 

#3 - Have an eternal perspective - "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

We talked about perspective on Day 2 of our study, having the right perspective changes everything. Right about here is where some start arguing that practicing joy is a silly view of the world. That being happy and serving others sounds well and good, but it isn't going to change anything.  Kids will still be abused, people will still starve, war will still cost many lives, and joy can't change any of that.  And to those people I say, neither will the lack of joy.  Being angry never fed anyone, being focused on yourself never prevented a war, abuse was never stopped by complaining.  But joy, expressed joy, joyful people, look so different and out of place in the world that they do make a difference in our lives.  But what about overdue bills, and my family member who is dying, surely God doesn't expect me to have joy about this! This isn't fair! And you would be right, it isn't fair, or right, but neither was Christ dying for us.  Grace to the sinner isn't fair or right, and the truth is we can't handle fair and right, we need grace and mercy.  So in the midst of tragedy, in a squalid jail cell, we CAN choose joy, and choose to rejoice in Christ, the consolation of His love, the fellowship of His Spirit, no matter our circumstances.  We can find small things to rejoice in every day we end the day still breathing. 

#4 - Decide to have joy and stop complaining and arguing - "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation"

Somethings need a lot of explanation, this one doesn't, just knock it off. Stopping complaining and arguing is about being obedient to God.  He gave all for us, surely we can give up complaining.  Complaining and arguing is like shooting yourself in the foot or friendly fire, it hurts those we love and look after the most.  

#5 - Share joy with others - "you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me."

As you discover an eternal perspective, I encourage you again to keep a journal and write down the things in your life that bring you joy. In ten years you probably won't remember that sleepless night worrying about a bill, but you will remember a joy drenched day spent with your family.  Make memories of joy and thankfulness and then make joy and thankfulness your habit, you won't regret it! Sharing joy with others shows them Christ's light and plants a seed of joy that can grow into a tree of joy that can drop the fruit of joy right back into your life.  Sewing joy, reaps joy!

Finally, joy isn't just a cliche, it's throughout the Bible, who wants to live life without joy? and Joy isn't some ideal you work for - it isn't about YOU doing enough to GET some joy - JOY is a GIFT from God.  Joy is waiting for you, you just have to accept it and unwrap it and pass it along. 

Romans 15:13

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 4:4

 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!

Romans 14:17

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Psalms 4:7

You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.

Psalms 16:11

You will show me the way of life,
    granting me the joy of your presence
    and the pleasures of living with you forever.

My life, because of all the great things God has done and is doing for me, should be marked with intentional thankfulness.  Christ wants to fill us up with His message of love of mankind and peace.  He wants our joy and thankfulness to overflow so richly that it teaches others and we can't even help ourselves except to praise God and thank him for the glory he has bestowed on us!  As this study wraps up, I encourage you to rejoice in the Lord!  Rejoice in all the things you have studied this week, in all the truths learned and all the ways that you are in Christ, free from sin, wrapped in an eternal glory. We have so much to be thankful for, even in the midst of trials, I encourage you to hang on to the joy you find in Christ, put away the long face and hold on with both hands to joy.  Choose Joy!