Will Someone/Something Steal my Joy?

Yes, and I will rejoice

Philippians 1:18b

Charlie Brown once said, "It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black!"

A military chaplain has a sign on his door which said, "If you HAVE troubles, come and tell me about them. If you DON'T, come in and tell me how you do it!"

Things don't always go as planned. The truth is, no one sails through life without storms. Because of this reason most people don't enjoy life, they just endure it. We saw last day that Paul is now moving from the past to the future.

Paul is saying that the things that have happened to him in the past will not rob him of joy. He is not going to let that happen. They've actually furthered the gospel.

What are the things that Paul is mentioning about? He was arrested in Jerusalem, falsely accused. He was then taken to Caesarea by the Sea. he spent two years in jail there. He went through mistrials before Felix, Festus and Agrippa. he appealed his case to Caesar. He's put on a prison ship. He's taken to Rome. He's had a shipwreck in the ocean. He finally makes it to Rome. He's put in jail again for another two-year incarceration. And he says all of those things happened to me in the past, and they will not steal my joy.

Then he says, not only are there past circumstances, there are past and present people who are trying to rob him of joy. And all of that ends in verse 18 where he says, I rejoice. Now he turns to the future. At the second part of verse 18, he pivots and says, "Yes, and I will rejoice."

While Paul is looking to the future we need to be reminded that he doesn't know what's going to happen in the future as far as circumstances are concerned. All he knows is that he's going to stand before the Roman court for a trial.

Since as a Roman citizen, he appealed to Caesar directly, it means he's going to stand in front of Caesar Nero himself, and Caesar Nero will render the verdict. He will either set him free of he will sever his hear. He will either exonerate him or exterminate him. Paul doesn't know which. He says as much in v.20 whether by life or by death.

Yet he makes this prediction - I will rejoice. He is going to have joy in his future. This shows us that joy is a choice. It is an act of the will. It is tethered to something deeper than happiness. Happiness is a temporary feeling of delight if the circumstances go your way. Joy is something that is fixed. There is a difference.The Bible mentions happiness about 30 times. It mentions joy 300 times because they are different experiences, and it's helpful to make a demarcation between them.

Happiness is externally triggered. For example if we get a raise in our salary we are happy. If somebody gives us a compliment we are happy. If we get a new car we are happy. If our team wins we are happy.

Happiness goes up and down depending on the circumstances. Joy is internally triggered. It is based upon a relationship with God. We are justified by faith. Our sins are forgiven. Our names are written in the Book of Life. We are on our way to heaven. That's something that is fixed. So, happiness has its source in events, in people, and in things. Joy has its source in God, which means Paul may have been experiencing unhappy feelings. He may be emotionally unhappy, incarcerated in jail and going through the beatings. Nobody likes that. But Paul is saying, nothing and no will steal my joy.

Dear friends, the society we live in perpetuates the lie that life must be perfect for us to be happy. We all think that if we could just change our situation our life would be great. If we could just get rid of all our problems our life would be great. But there's no such things as a problem free life. If we are going to learn to be happy, joyful, we must learn to be joyful in the situation, in the problems, and in the very experiences of life.

God Bless you.