It is very challenging to experience a steady stream of uninterrupted joy in our lives. There seems to be some beavers damming up the flow. These critters become first class joy robbers who have names – Circumstance, People, Past, and Worry.
I have a friend who shared the story of the first homeowner's association meeting he attended. The first item on the agenda was replanting trees that the beavers had chewed down to build a dam. The conversation went on and on about what trees to plant, the cost of the trees, and who would plant them. My friend could take it no more, he raised his hand and when called on blurted out, "Don't you think we should get rid of the beavers first?"
This is conventional wisdom, common sense. If you don't get rid of the beavers, they are going to chew down your new trees just like they did with the old ones. This line of thinking not only works quite well when talking about trees and streams but it also works quite well when it comes to our experience with joy.
- You must deal with the beavers who dam up your flow of joy.
Well, here is the good news. Paul writes the "treatise on joy" in a little letter containing just 1629 words to the believers in Philippi. In this letter he shows us how to do it. Here's the kicker - he is writing it while being contained under house arrest in Rome chained to a smelly Roman guard 24/7. Let's call the guard Mr. Beaver. Not exactly a Petry dish for inner peace.
He mentions the word "joy" sixteen times in these four short chapters making it the driving theme of his letter. He also mentions the word "mindset" sixteen times. If we are going to discover the ancient secret to experiencing worry-defeating, circumstance-defying happiness, we must have the right mindset. Paul is going to give us that mindset in the form of twenty principles that will help us deal with the beavers in our lives.
Let me just give you the first joy principle. He opens the letter with these words,
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
What is Paul doing? He is "praying with joy." Several times a day he would set aside time for prayer. It wasn't haphazard but intentional. Specifically, he is recalling happy memories he has of how the Philippians have believed in him and supported him in his work. The Philippians were the only group of people who backed him from the beginning even though Paul never asked for it.
Posts
.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/quality,q_70/resize,m_mfit,w_350,h_350/format,webp)
No comments:
Post a Comment