The Secret to Paul’s Joy
Daniel Hope
At this very moment people all over the world are experiencing things that are threatening to break into their lives, steal their joy, and leave them miserable. Right now there are people in the city where you live that are experiencing things that are jeopardizing their joy. But you don’t have to travel around the world—or even around town—to witness what I’m talking about.
All you have to do is live. Because every day negative things happen in your life that threaten to send you spinning in a downward spiral. The good news, though, is that you don’t have to go down with your circumstances. As a Christian, you have the power to rise above your circumstances.
Paul did. He was in prison when he wrote the letter to the church in Philippi (Phil. 1:7, 13, 14, 16). The prospect of death hovered over his head daily. To make matters worse, Paul’s friend—Epaphroditus—got very sick and almost died while visiting him during his imprisonment (Phil. 2:27-28). And as if that weren’t more than enough for one person to handle, Paul had enemies within the church that sought to make his life as miserable as possible (Phil. 1:16).
Considering the circumstances in Paul’s life when he wrote this letter, one might suppose to read in Philippians the words of a grumpy old man who is mad at the world and at God. After all, less than half of what Paul experienced would be more than enough to make most of us depressed or cynical.
However, in spite of his circumstances, Paul writes from prison the most beautiful "joy- letter" ever written. The Romans had hand-cuffs, but they didn’t have heart-cuffs. Therefore, Paul was free to possess joy in jail. He was free to turn a cell into a celebration. Paul came to learn that, as Richard Lovelace later wrote, "Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage."
Sixteen times in the four chapters of Philippians we read the words joy or rejoice in some form. Paul rejoiced in prayer (1:4), in the preaching of Christ (1:18), in the unity of the church (2:2), in the thought of the second coming (2:16), in the thought of death (2:17), in the Philippians themselves (4:1), and in their care for him (4:10).
What was the secret to Paul’s joy? Where—if not in his circumstances—did he find his joy? Well, I don’t know of anyone better to answer these questions than Paul himself. Consider these three statements:
Philippians 3:1—"Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…." (NKJV)
Philippians 3:3—"For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (NKJV)
Philippians 4:4—"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" (NKJV)
What was the secret to Paul’s joy? Jesus. Where—if not in his circumstances—did he find his joy? In the Lord.
Let us never forget that—like Paul—even when we can’t rejoice in our circumstances, we can rejoice in Christ. Remember, the God that you serve wants to bless you with joy in any and every circumstance.