Rejoice! Choosing Joy in the Midst of our Mess (4)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 10/25/2015
I came across a Peanuts cartoon this week. Charlie Brown and his friend Linus are gazing off into the distance overlooking a short brick wall, when Charlie asks, “Do you ever think much about the future, Linus?” His friend replies, “Oh, yes… all the time.” So Charlie asks, “What do you think you’d like to be when you grow up?” Linus turns to Charlie in his matter-of-fact way and says, “Outrageously happy!”
What about you? Would you like to be outrageously happy when you grow up? I think we could all use a little more joy in our lives. And yet, for many people happiness remains elusive—as if it’s “out there somewhere” just beyond our reach. A bumper-sticker on a construction vehicle read: “The road to happiness is almost always under construction.” Maybe you can relate.
Or maybe you relate better to Charlie Brown, who said, “I think I'm afraid of being happy because whenever I get too happy something bad always happens.”
The good news is—God actually wants us to be happy. Scattered across the thinly cut pages of your Bible are dozens of commands to rejoice and be joyful! The bad news is—we don’t always know how to do that. That’s why we’ve spent the last several weeks sifting through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In it, Paul speaks repeatedly about joy, rejoicing and happiness.
In the first chapter, Paul points out that we can experience joy by focusing on partnerships, on the positive, and on our purpose in life. In chapter two, he demonstrates that there is joy in solidarity, selflessness, and shinning a light for Christ. In the third chapter he encourages us to find happiness by relying on grace and reaching for the goal. Finally, as we come to chapter four, we encounter Paul climactic command: “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NLT).
It seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to rejoice. But Paul’s attitude and advice teach us some important lessons about true happiness and joy. As chapter 4 continues, Paul highlights three secrets to experiencing true joy.
First, we experience true joy through communion.
• COMMUNION
Immediately following his command to “rejoice always,” Paul writes: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6 NLT).
So Paul’s first secret to true happiness is connecting or communing with God through prayer. The Greek word translated “worry” in in this verse literally means “to be pulled in different directions.” That’s what worry does, doesn’t it? Our hopes pull us in one direction; our fears pull us the opposite direction; and we are pulled apart! In fact, worry has definite physical consequences: headaches, neck pains, ulcers, even back pains. Worry affects our thinking, our digestion, and even our coordination. And worry is one of the greatest enemies of happiness.
But, thankfully, Paul gives us the cure for worry. Instead of worrying about anything, he says, pray about everything! He says there’s two parts to this prayer. First, tell God what you need. Second, thank him for all he’s done. These two things—talking to God about our problems, and thanking him for all he’s done—are essential to experiencing real joy. When you share your troubles with God and you fill your heart with thankfulness, it pushes all of those negative emotions—stress, worry, frustration—out of the way. Thankfulness and worry cannot co-exist.
Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. In one study, they asked all participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics. One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives than all the other participants. The researchers concluded that thankfulness leads to happiness.
Thankfulness doesn’t come naturally to us all though. We have to be intentional about it. In some parts of Mexico hot springs and cold springs are found side by side—and because of the convenience of this natural phenomenon the women often bring their laundry and boil their clothes in the hot springs and then rinse them in the cold ones. A tourist, who was watching this procedure, commented to his Mexican friend and guide: "I imagine that they think old Mother Nature is pretty generous to supply free hot and cold water here side by side." The guide replied, "No senor, there is much grumbling because she supplies no soap."
If you want to be happy, don’t focus on what you don’t have. Instead, count your blessings and thank God for what you do have. So our communion with God—the ability to cast our care on him and give thanks—is the first key to real joy.
Furthermore, we experience joy through concentration.
• CONCENTRATION
Every day, negative, hurtful, harmful thoughts come all by themselves, unbidden. You don’t wake up and think, I will have an awful day today. I will dig up the worst, most terrible, painful things to think about. No, the bad thoughts just come. You’ll be in the middle of your day, just doing your thing, when all of a sudden a negative thought stabs you. Where did that come from? you might wonder. I don’t want to think about that. I thought I was past that, but it’s back to haunt me again.
Bad thoughts bombard us—unresolved conflict, negativity, ungratefulness, past hurts, disappointments, anxieties—and these thoughts threaten to steal our joy and our peace of mind. But you don’t have to concentrate on those things!
In one of the most beloved passages of the Bible, Paul gives us eight categories of positive thoughts—eight thought filters. And if something doesn’t make it through these eight filters then it shouldn’t be in your mind or in your heart. Here’s what he writes: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV).
A sense of peace and tranquility washes over you just reading this verse, doesn’t it? Here Paul reminds us that much of our peace and happiness in life depends on our own thoughts—the things we choose to dwell on and think about.
If it’s not true, then don’t welcome it. If it’s not honorable, if it’s not right, or pure don’t let it find a home in your heart! Rather we ought to focus our thoughts on things that are lovely or admirable or excellent or praiseworthy. The word think means to really mull over—literally, to chew the cud, like animals that eat and then regurgitate so they can chew the food over and over and over again. That’s what our minds should do with good thoughts.
In our media-saturated age, finding praiseworthy entertainment is more important than ever. Seek out music, movies, TV, and books that enlighten and inspire your life. If you’ve got people in your newsfeed that are always bringing you down, maybe it’s time to trim your friends list.
Norman Vincent Peale, in his now classic book The Power of Positive Thinking, put it this way: “Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate… Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
So the first key to happiness is communing with God through prayer, the second is concentrating on positive thoughts. Finally, we experience true joy through Christ.
• CHRIST
In the final summation of it all, Paul writes this: “I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens, when I have enough to eat and when I go hungry, when I have more than I need and when I do not have enough. I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12-13 NCV).
The ultimate secret to happiness is Jesus. Paul was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him, Jesus was with him. Ultimate joy comes from Christ dwelling in us.
Jesus once told his followers, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:10-11 NIV).
Jesus wants to put his joy in us! Many times when we think of Jesus we picture him as this serious, sober, and solemn person—and he was at times. But, what many of us fail to realize is that Jesus was also a man of indomitable joy. He radiated real happiness. Jesus wasn’t this melancholy, depressed person with a raincloud following him around everywhere he went. The Bible says that Jesus was “full of joy through the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21 NIV). That’s what God wants us to be—full of joy from the Holy Spirit. I’m certain that’s what attracted countless people to Jesus. Do you have a hard time imagining Jesus smiling and laughing? Bruce Marchiano doesn’t.
Bruce had the unique opportunity to play the role of Jesus in The Visual Bible’s movie adaptation of the book of Matthew and the book of Acts. Bruce, who is a committed believer, used the experience to get to know Jesus better than he ever had before. In preparation for the role, he delved deeply into the Gospels, reading them aloud, meditating on them. Following the release of the films, Bruce wrote a book about his experience called In the Footsteps of Jesus. In it, he writes:
Yes, Jesus smiled; yes, Jesus laughed. Jesus smiled wider and laughed heartier than any human being who has ever walked the planet. He was young. He radiated good cheer. Jesus was a man of such merriment, such gladness of heart, such freedom and openness, that He proved irresistible. He became known throughout Galilee for His genuine strength, the sparkle in His eyes, the spring in His gait, the heartiness in His laugh, the genuineness of His touch; His passion, playfulness, excitement, and vitality: His JOY! (In the Footsteps of Jesus)
Jesus was and is a man of joy. What is more, Jesus’ joy is infectious. When Jesus came into this world, he gave each and every one us a reason to be happy—a reason to rejoice. We all know bad things happen in this world. Stuff drags us down. Jesus even said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 TLB). He was always telling people to cheer up.
When a paralyzed man was brought to him, Jesus said, “Cheer up, friend! Your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2 GWT). Immediately the man stood up and leapt for joy. When a sick woman, who’d been chronically hemorrhaging for twelve years, snuck up behind him and touched his cloak, Jesus said, “Cheer up, daughter! Your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22 GWT). As Jesus walked on the stormy Sea of Galilee and looked into the frightened eyes of the apostles who were trying to row in the midst of the storm, Jesus said, “Cheer up. It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
You see, you and I have only a limited control over the circumstances which come our way. We are not sure what the next few months or years will bring to our homes, our families, or our lives. But, in all the storms of life we can hear the joyful voice of Jesus, saying, “Cheer up. Smile. I’m here and I love you.”
If you have Jesus in your life, you have a limitless source of joy!
Conclusion:
I heard a story this week—a tale of two dogs. An aged, experienced dog saw a young pup chasing its tail and asked, "Why are you chasing your tail like that?" The pup replied, “Because I belief happiness is in my tail. If I catch it, then I’ll be happy.” The older dog grinned and said, “I too believe happiness is in my tail. But I have learned that no matter how hard you chase it, you’ll never catch it. However, if I simply go about my business, it follows me wherever I go.”
I think that’s the way it with joy. If you’re always chasing after happiness it will always be just out of reach. But if you’ll pursue Jesus, then joy will follow.
By communing with God (sharing our problems with him and being genuinely thankful for what he’s done), by concentrating on the things that are true, right, lovely, and praiseworthy, and by cultivating our relationship with Christ, we can experience true, lasting joy—joy that no one can take from us.
Invitation:
Do you need more joy in your life? If so, I want to invite you to take a moment while the rest of us stand and sing to pray, just thank God for all he’s done and ask him to fill you with the joy of Jesus. If you haven’t received Jesus into your life yet, then I want you to come talk with me about that while we stand and sing.
