The Joy Challenge – Week 1

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!”
Philippians 4:4 (NLT)

What fills your life? The writer of this New Testament letter wasn’t sipping a cocktail on the beach in Maui when he said, “Always be full of joy in the Lord.…” in Philippians 4:4. Who wouldn’t be full of joy there? No, he was in prison. In fact, this was one of four letters we have in our Bibles that the Apostle Paul wrote from a dark, damp, lonely prison cell in Rome. From his circumstances, you would have never guessed he would be full of joy!

The word joy appears nineteen times in this letter to the church in Philippi. Some have even called it the Epistle of Joy. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll find the source of his joy. While joy seems to be the recurring theme on the surface, there is another word that occurs more than any other word and that is the name of Jesus Christ. His name appears over forty times in these four little chapters. He is the One who is the very source of joy! That explains how Paul could be full of joy despite the limitations and constraints of his circumstances. I find this particularly meaningful as I try to navigate unpleasant circumstances, trials, and pressures beyond my ability to control. In a world filled with such uncertainty, it’s vital that we reconnect to the real source of joy.

In his thirty-day devotional book on Ephesians, another one of Paul’s prison letters, my good friend from Sweden, Kjell Axel Johanson, said, “This is why Paul dared to live in faith while he was a chained prisoner. His faith in God cleared his vision, so he could see further ahead than his present circumstances.” (Rise above Your Chains, Pg. 58)

Wow! That’s a faith that works! That’s genuine faith. It produces real joy! If all that you can see are your present circumstances, then your circumstances will determine your joy. But when you and I get to the place where we find ourselves in the center of the will of God and know we are in His will, not even the harshest of circumstances will rob us of our joy! We will see further ahead than our present circumstances because we will be focused on Jesus, “… the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God!” Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)

There is no other source of joy that can sustain you like that! In Christ we can be full of joy!

“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink,
but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 14:17 (NLT)

When the Kingdom of God comes to this world there is great joy! The first fruit of salvation is joy. When people believe the gospel, (the good news) and are saved, their experience is an experience of great joy! In Acts 8, a Jewish believer named, Philip, who had fled severe persecution of believers in Jerusalem, went to Samaria and preached the Good News about Jesus as the Messiah. Crowds of Samaritans listened intently, eager to hear his message, and believed the gospel. Their immediate response is recorded in verse 8, where the Bible says, “So there was great joy in that city.”

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas shared the gospel with their jailer who had severely beaten them and placed them in stocks. The Bible tells us that not only did he believe in Christ, but his entire household did as well, and they were all baptized. Verse 34 records their initial response to faith in Jesus, “(The jailor) brought them (Paul and Silas) into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.” 

Think back to the time you first believed. You should remember the joy that filled your soul knowing your sins were forgiven, you were secured a home in heaven and Jesus had given you new life! I love the way the bible describes this in Isaiah 61:10 (NLT): “I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.”

Joy – overwhelming joy, is the initial response of believing the gospel! The Apostle Paul described the Kingdom of God as living a life of joy in Romans 14:17. Then, in the next chapter, he prayed that God would fill them completely with joy because they trusted in Christ in Romans 15:13.

Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He fills us with joy! Nehemiah 8:10 (NLT) says, “The joy of the LORD is your strength.” When we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, the response is one of great joy! Lives are forever changed, bodies are healed, relationships are restored, sins are forgiven! It’s heaven on earth when His Kingdom comes! Jesus told His followers in John 15:11 (NLT), “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” Then He repeats that in John 16 and in John 17. John must have gotten the message because he would later write in 1 John 1:4 (NKJV), “And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

This joy is peculiar. It is powerful. It is permanent. Nothing can extinguish His joy when we believe. His joy in us doesn’t depend on circumstances. When Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica he said, “And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 1:6 (NKJV)

Did you get that? We could experience this joy even in much affliction. The word for affliction can be translated as “severe suffering.” How is that possible? Jesus told us in John 16:33 (NKJV), “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

This is the message of the Gospel! It’s a message of great joy! No matter what the world, the devil, or our own flesh throws at us, we can overflow with joy because Jesus has won the victory! He has overcome the world. He continues to overcome the world and He will forever overcome the forces against us! The angels knew it when they announced His coming to the shepherds in Luke 2:10-11 (NLT), “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”

Have you experienced this joy? If not, open your heart to Jesus. Receive Him by faith. You’ll overflow with joy! If you have that joy, share it with someone! Let’s bring God’s Kingdom to earth and fill our world with overflowing joy!

“Though you have not seen Him, 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….”
1 Peter 1:8 (NIV)

Would you describe your life as “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy?” It can be! I’m not talking about a shallow sense of happiness or a fake-it-till-you-make-it disposition, but actual deep-down joy! How do you experience that kind of joy? Are some people just predisposed in their DNA to being optimists, while others seem to be more pessimists? Is it just part of their personality? When you discover that joy is not a feeling, joy is a focus, then you can experience the secret of inexpressible and glorious joy!

Peter tells us in his letter to “suffering saints” that even though they have not seen Jesus in person as he had, they have believed in Him and by virtue of His presence indwelling them, they could be filled with inexpressible joy! Their faith could shift their focus from their circumstances to the reality of His abiding presence that would never leave them. In 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT), he writes, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”

Worries and cares of this world are killjoys! They are joy killers! We all have them. Even optimists have worries and cares. So what do you do with them to keep them from stealing your joy? Peter says to give them all to God! Let Him handle them. I love the way the Amplified Bible puts this verse. It helps me picture how to give my worries and cares to God. It says, “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” Wow! You and I have a God who cares about us affectionately and watchfully! He understands exactly what you’re going through right now! He knows what you’ve been through. He knows what you’re going to go through! And He cares! He invites you and me to make a choice with those worries and cares of life. He says give them to me! The Greek word there for “casting” literally means to throw them on Him! Strong’s Dictionary of Greek and Hebrew words says, “Casting is a primary verb meaning to fling (properly with a quick toss).” Do you get the picture? When the cares of this world and the worries of life creep in to steal your joy, immediately recognize what is happening and fling them, quickly toss them back to God! Let Him handle them. He’s big enough for the job! When you do that, there’s a sense of giddiness that comes from the joy of releasing all that you are, and everything that you have, into the hands of the One who loves you most. Also, there’s an unshakeable confidence that He can handle any situation that should ever arise under any circumstance!

This is the kind of inexpressible and glorious joy that Peter said was characteristic of Christ followers to whom he wrote his letter. What makes this description even more remarkable is that he wrote to Christ followers who, unlike himself, had never seen Jesus for themselves. They had never witnessed any of His miracles firsthand or, even, heard a word He taught. They had only experienced Christ, by faith, from what they had heard and were taught about Him – much like us today! Still, Peter says they loved Him and believed in Him. As a result, their lives were transformed and filled with inexpressible and glorious joy!  

Furthermore, their joy didn’t depend on their circumstances. While happiness often depends on what happens, the joy that Jesus brings by the Holy Spirit into our hearts transcends whatever happens here and now. That’s why this joy is so inexpressible and glorious!

It’s easy to be happy when good things happen. That’s only natural. But the Christ followers to whom Peter wrote were experiencing tremendous trials. Due to the most severe persecution and terror, they were scattered throughout various regions of the Roman world as homeless refugees. How in the world could these believers be filled with such joy? It was supernatural! Their joy was in the One they loved and who loved them beyond life itself! They knew that this world was not their home. They lived for another world!

Which world are you living for today? Jesus offers you His joy no matter what you are going through today. Throw all your concern on Him. Cast all your care on Him because He cares for you. Picture all those worries and cares in the palms of your two hands. Now fling them all on Him! Then open your heart to the One who watches over you affectionately and experience His inexpressible and glorious joy!

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:12 (NIV)

The heart cry of David in his confession was for God to restore the joy of His salvation. Sin had robbed him of it and separated him from the God he loved. It left him miserable, feeling dirty, and ashamed. It does the same to you and me today. But Jesus came that our joy may be made full! In John 15:11 (NASB), Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

How, then, can we restore that joy when the killjoy of sin has left us feeling guilty, defeated, and discouraged? We’ve all been there because none of us is perfect. How can we get our joy back? This is one of the most essential lessons of faith we must learn as Christ followers less Satan derail us into a lifetime of regret.

Let’s look at this Psalm a little closer for the answer. David’s sin had affected his whole being. In verse 3 he says, “For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.” His mind was haunted by the regret of what he had done. Another translation says, “… my sin is always before me.” This is the consequence of sin in our lives. His heart and mind were broken, and he felt separated from God. As a Christ-follower, we know that sin doesn’t break our relationship with God, but it does separate our fellowship from Him. We lose our peace and our joy. That’s why David cried out in verse 12, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” The Hebrew word there for “joy” means “deep joy.” It suggests brightness, gladness, and rejoicing of heart. But David’s heart was far from such brightness. His soul was dark and joyless. He recognized the snare of temptation and felt trapped in sin. He was saying, “Oh God, may I love You so much that my strongest desire for sin will become as hateful to me as it is to You, that I may not be separated from You by yielding to it again!” This is the key to unlocking joy in our hearts. The central verse of David’s prayer is found in verse 10, when he prays, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” This was David’s prayer of confession. If his joy were ever to be restored, his heart must be made right. Only God could cleanse his heart of sin and renew a right spirit within him.

We know from another Psalm that God did hear David’s prayer. In Psalm 32, he would write, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” Psalm 32:1-5 (NLT)

Here’s the vital lesson we learn from David. Confession restores joy! When we truly repent of our sin and confess it to God, He is gracious to forgive. In fact, the New Testament verse for this is found in 1 John 1:9. I call it the etch-a-sketch verse because when I confess my sins and turn from them to Jesus, like an etch-a-sketch, He puts those sins under His shed blood, and they disappear! 1 John 1:9 (TLB) says, “But if we confess our sins to Him, He can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. [And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.]”

If your heart is burdened by sin and you long for the joy you once experienced in Christ, take a moment now to make your confession to God as David did. Be honest with Him. Turn to God from your sin and ask His forgiveness. Be specific. Do a thorough examination and bring every hidden thought and action into the light of His love and grace. Ask Him to cleanse your heart and renew a right spirit within you. Then, thank Him for hearing your prayer and forgiving your sin. Rejoice that your sins are forgiven, and your fellowship is restored! Experience His joy again! The slate has been wiped clean!  

“Worship the Lord with gladness!”
Psalm 100:2a (NLT)

King David wrote, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Psalm 122:1 (NLT)

Is that your attitude toward worship? Do you worship with gladness? I’ve been in some churches where it looked like the members were all baptized in vinegar! Instead of joy and gladness, there were so many sour dispositions and frowning faces. You would think they would have thought David said, “I was mad or I was sad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Who wants to attend a church like that? People aren’t coming to a funeral service or a business meeting when they come to worship. Jesus rose from the dead! He conquered death, hell, and the grave! He is risen! The tomb is empty so our lives may be full, full of joy! Full of hope! Full of meaning and purpose that makes life worth living both now and for eternity! I can’t imagine Pentecost and every other church service that followed in the New Testament was like a funeral dirge. God desires our hearts to be filled with His joy when we worship! In fact, Psalms 100 begins with joy. It says, “Shout with JOY to the LORD, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with JOY!” (Vs. 1-2, NLT)

Genuine worship is the expression of unbridled joy as we encounter the God who made us, died to redeem us, and lives to transform us into the very image of His Son! It’s so easy to take worship for granted and begin to just go through the motions or rituals of our tradition and lose our focus on God. We can even get so distracted by serving that we lose the joy of the one we serve! That’s the occupational hazard of vocational ministry. So, the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 100 that, when we come to worship, we should enter His gates with thanksgiving and go into His courts with praise.

Thanksgiving and praise! Imagine how charged with life and vitality our worship would be if we did that this weekend when we went to church! Thanksgiving and praise are the evidence of real joy! When we worship, we thank God for all He has done and is doing, and we praise God for all that He is! Thanksgiving gets us through the gates and then, praise takes us into His very presence where there is fullness of joy! This Psalm provides a model of thanksgiving and praise in the final verses: “Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.” (Vs. 4b-5, NLT) 

Thank God for His goodness. Praise Him for His unfailing love and faithfulness. God not only loves, but God is love! We praise Him for who He is and thank Him for what He does. When we do, we experience the joy of worship! I can’t wait to experience that this weekend at church. Can you?

If you want to make your Joy Challenge even more meaningful, invite a friend to join you at church this weekend and share the joy you have in Jesus!