His Joy!

Rejoice evermore.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 

Two simple words. Yet the weight of that command carries further than outward actions. 

For those of you who know me fairly well, you may think it ironic that one of my favorite books of the Bible is Philippians. For my readers who don't know me as well, Philippians is a book about joy, but my personality tends to run Pessimistic Sarcasm by default. In other words, a joyful life is one that requires work for me. 

I wrote a post entitled "His Joy" last year, but it didn't reach the depths that I wanted it, too. I have also been reading through a book entitled With the Master: In Fullness of Joy (Susan J. Heck) which is a Bible study on the book of Philippians. Combine that with receiving John Piper's devotional on joy this morning, as well as deciding to submit something for the next issue of a girls' newsletter (the topic just "happened" to be joy), and then reading about joy in my personal devotions this morning.  

So, in light of all that, here it is.

Paul speaks a lot about joy. As a man who endured great persecution, he is continually encouraging others to find their joy in the Lord, in other believers, and in their salvation.

Paul found his joy in the Lord.
He couldn't base it on his circumstances because they were constantly changing. Imprisonment, beatings, shipwrecks, wayward churches and "believers", and false teachers provided Paul with more than enough hardships to complain about. Yet, he didn't. In 2 Corinthians 7:4 he says "I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation". Paul knew where to find his joy, and because he clung to the steadfast joy of the Lord, he was able to say, "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." We have the hope of a Savior who is sovereign, and not only do we have that hope, but along with that God provides joy when we believe and trust in His will. "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." (Romans 15:13) God fills us with joy! We can't outwardly express joy every single minute, because some of our circumstances are truly not joyful. But that is not what determines what we feel like. The only way to be genuinely joyful is to allow Christ's joy and peace to reign in our hearts. Jesus said to His disciples "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full". (John 15:11) It is the commands of Christ and the comforts of the Spirit that will fill us with joy.

Paul found his joy in other believers.
"Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all." (2 Corinthians 7:13) There should be (and often is) joy among fellow believers. We share the same faith; we encourage one another in our walks with the Lord; we rejoice with those who rejoice. Titus' "spirit was refreshed" and that caused joy for Paul and many other fellow believers. Joy is contagious; often it's a domino effect. You can't help but pick up the joyfulness of someone when they are happy. And that's a good thing. Paul also had joy in other believers because he had confidence in them. "I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things." (2 Corinthians 7:16) Paul was joyful when lifting up fellow believers from Philippi in prayer. He greatly longed to be with them in person, but his joy stemmed from pleading for them before the throne of God. "Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy." (Philippians 1:4) He knew that his and their joy would once again be fulfilled when they could fellowship in person again. "And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again." (Philippians 1:25-26)

Paul found joy in his salvation.
It was from Paul's deep faith in Christ, that his joy increased. "...but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5:11) If Christ had not provided a way of salvation, then our happiness in this world would be painfully temporary. While the happiness in this life is still short-lived, we have an ever-abiding joy because of the cross. The Man of Sorrows, the one who endured the excruciating death of the cross, bore the shame of the world with joy! And He it is who is the author and finisher of our faith. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Paul found joy in seeing the steadfast faith of the Colossian believers: "...I [am] with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ." (Colossians 2:5) Watching others--maybe even people you've discipled--increase in their faith and grow in their stedfastness in the Lord is truly a joy. And you rejoice with them, because, as Matthew Henry states, "For by faith we stand firmly, and live safely and comfortable. Our strength and ability are owning to faith, and our comfort and joy must flow from faith". When you see others standing firmly for the Lord it provides great joy for the people around them. David, in his Psalm of repentance, prayed "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation..." (Psalm 51:12). Salvation carries with it the joy of forgiveness--nothing held against you in spite of continual failures. The grace and mercy freely given to us provides us with a restored vision and a humble spirit to continually press onward.

And then in conclusion, Paul commands the Thessalonian believers to "rejoice evermore". Not just through wonderful circumstances; not just on a cheerful Sunday morning; not just when the depth of salvation is so real. No, he says "evermore". Always. Continually. Never-ending. The joy of the Lord is our strength. His joy and strength never fails, and the Author and Finisher of our faith has no end, either.

Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)

When we come boldly to the throne of grace, there...only there, will we find that in His presence is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11)

Striving to please Him,
Kaleigh 

WWJS

"Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few." Ecclesiastes 5:2

My Grandma was always one to use those old sayings that honestly, still prove their need in our day and age. "A penny saved is a penny earned", "life is like a bowl of cherries", "practice what you preach", and "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" were just a handful of those phrases that she would say. But though each saying deserves it's individual attention in separate posts, it'd be nice to touch base on at least one of these. 

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

This does not exclude us from telling the truth. However, though the truth is important, we should look at being tactful first. We may see a friend as being overweight and may inwardly feel that they should go on a diet; but we probably aren't going to want to walk up to them and tell them what we're thinking. We realize that this type of conversation could hurt their feelings and we would try to avoid doing that if we really cared about how they would take what we said. And this would lead us to the point that I'd really like for us to focus on in this post: WWJS. Note: you have maybe heard of "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do), but what if we were to look at it another way and ask the question: "What Would Jesus Say"?

What if every word we said reflected the tone of voice that Jesus would use. What if every word we said reflected Christ's love for us and we were to ricochet that love on those around us? What if the words we used changed the lives of our unsaved friends or family members? or even if we planted a seed in their hearts that pointed them towards Christ? Would we make more of an effort to speak with encouraging words, use words of wisdom, to think before we speak, maybe even to pray before uttering a word? How can we use our voices to lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ, instead of tearing them down?

"The trouble with the guy who talks too fast is that he often says something he hasn't thought of yet."

Think before we speak:

I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to slap my face for saying stupid things. Those are moments when I "speak first and think later". The mouth seems to keep moving, but I put the brain on pause. And to think that all that embarrassment could have been avoided if I had thought first and spoken later.

Ask ourselves if it's necessary:

If it's necessary to say something, we need to think out how we're going to say what needs to be said. It's not always about how you say them, it's what. (Although saying things in the proper tone is still vital in getting the right message across). Which leads us to... 

How will the other person take it:

When we have figured out what (or even how) we should say something, we will already be taking into consideration the feelings of the person we are addressing our words to, and respecting those feelings as that of another human being.  

Believe it's something Jesus would say:

We can't just think: "Yeah, I think Jesus would say something that way". We need to believe it. Is it loving? Is it respectful? Is it truthful? Is it necessary to bring up? Are our intentions right? By asking ourselves and thinking through our responses and statements, we will be avoiding embarrassing circumstances that we could get into by blindly opening our mouths and letting just anything come flooding out. Would what we say to someone after taking our next breath be something that we would hear Jesus say?    

Will hope spring forth from your lips? Will the things we say be blessings or curses? Do we want to make even a slight difference in someone else's life by the words we speak? 

As Christians, the world is watching us. "What Would Jesus Say?"

Sister in Christ,

Anna