The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Philippians 1:4,
"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy..."
Joy is a word not often used today, but certainly a word well
understood. Perhaps used more at Christmas time than during the rest
of the year. Christmas cards often employ the word "joy" and "rejoice"
as well as many of the carols we sing. We all know what it means. If
not, Merriam-Webster defines it as, "The emotion evoked by well-being,
success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one
desires, a state of happiness or felicity, a source or cause of
delight." I love the words related to joy that on-line dictionary
provides: "elatedness, elation, exhilaration, exultation, high,
intoxication; ecstasy, euphoria, glory, heaven, nirvana, paradise,
rapture, rapturousness, ravishment, seventh heaven, transport;
delectation, delight, enjoyment, pleasure; cheer, cheerfulness,
comfort, exuberance, gaiety (also gayety), gladsomeness, glee,
gleefulness, jocundity, jollity, joyfulness, joyousness, jubilance,
jubilation, lightheartedness, merriness, mirth; content,
contentedness, gratification, satisfaction, triumph." That kind of
rounds-out my understanding of what Paul means when he speaks of the
joy he holds in his heart. In this instance it is his prayerful
consideration of the participation the Philippian believers had in his
ministry.
Joy is a current we see in this letter of Paul to the Philippian
church. We have the word provided us by our translators five times. We
also find the term "rejoice" six times in this letter. Perhaps the
crowning use of the word is found in 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice!" From this we see there is an
expectation that believers will rejoice, should be rejoicing in their
Lord. There should be an unmistakable exuberance and exhilaration of
joy in the heart of a believer for his Lord. If we are not finding it,
maybe we should take a look under the hood to see what is going on.
Possibly something missing in our understanding of the Lord, some
impediment on our part in our relationship with him, maybe the thrust
or temperament of the fellowship we are involved with. Paul tells us
that the kingdom of heaven is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy
in the Holy Spirit, Romans 14:17.
We read in Galatians 5:22 that joy is a fruit or product of the Holy
Spirit in our lives. Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers they
received the gospel message in the midst of suffering, yet with "the
joy given by the Holy Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 1:6. God is all about
joy. God the Father anointed Jesus Christ "with the oil of joy",
Hebrews 1:9; Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before him",
Hebrews 12:2; The "city of the living God" is where "thousands upon
thousands of angels in joyful assembly" are gathered, Hebrews 12:22.
Peter tells us, "Though you have not seen him [our Lord Jesus Christ],
you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in
him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are
receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
1 Peter 1:8-9. "An inexpressible and glorious joy"! This should be
evident among God's people. It is the nature of God, our source and
our experience in life with him. Our God is a joyous God and this
can't help but be expressed by those who are his.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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