Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Paul has touched on the topics of joy and rejoicing several times in his letters so far ( 1:4, 18, 25-26; 2:1-2, 17-18, 29; 3:1, 4:1). That joy is different from happiness, with which many confuse it.
Happiness is situational. If things are going well, if my plans are succeeding, if I get what I want for Christmas, if nothing happens to upset me, I am happy. But if those things don’t happen, or if things change, my happiness quickly disintegrates and blows away.
Joy, on the other hand, is permanent and enduring, regardless of the circumstances, because it is based on God, and not just on what he has done, but on what he is doing. Paul understood that, even though he was imprisoned, and had been for nearly four years, God was still working in the world for the salvation of people, and His kingdom was moving forward, even through Paul. Paul was still able to bring people to Jesus, and able to bear constant witness to His own transformation. And God’s power still flowed continually through him.
Paul knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that God had a place prepared for him when his ministry was over (Philippians 1: 21-26), but he also knew that God was near him even in his prison, and he experienced the nearness of God’s presence every moment. So, he had enduring joy.
Paul gave the Philippian Christians powerful advice that was working in his own circumstances. He knew that being a Christian in the pagan Roman world was never easy and could be downright dangerous. But Paul urged them to continue to be gentle, patient, and kind, regardless of the circumstances. He urged them to pray for what they needed with assurance that God would be faithful and would keep his promise to provide for them.
With that kind of basic faith, and with the sure answers that they would receive, their faith, their confidence, and yes, their peace even in the midst of turmoil, would continue to grow, leading to even more opportunities to bring the good news to those who saw their hope and joy.
Father, it is easy to rejoice when things are going our way, when we are safe and warm and well- supplied. But all too often our rejoicing in those circumstances is fueled not by real joy, but by ephemeral happiness. And when the circumstances change, when the journey gets more difficult, our rejoicing is quickly changed into moaning and prayers for instant relief. How different from the joy that is based on You! Regardless of the circumstances, You are eternal, all-powerful, and continually working your plan of bringing salvation to the whole world. Father, forgive us for allowing the changing circumstances to change our response. Forgive us for allowing the hard times we might go through to blur our vision of eternity, to shift our focus away from your plan onto our own circumstances, and to even take us out of action until things get better (which they may not do!). Help us, Lord, to live our every moment with you in the center of our vision, with your salvation at the center of our hearts, and with your mission at the center of our agendas, so that your joy can fill our hearts every day. Amen.