In contrast to happiness stands joy. Running deeper and stronger, joy is the quiet, confident assurance of God's love and work in our lives -- that he will be there no matter what! Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Christ.
Philippians is Paul's joy letter. The church in that Macedonian city had been a great encouragement to Paul. The Philippian believers had enjoyed a very special relationship with him, so he wrote them a personal expression of his love and affection. They had brought him great joy. Philippians is also a joyful book because it emphasizes the real joy of the Christian life. The concept of rejoicing or joy appears sixteen times in four chapters, and the pages radiate this positive messages, culminating in the exhortation to "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!" (4:4)
In a life dedicated to serving Christ, Paul had faced excruciating poverty, abundant wealth, and everything in between. He even wrote this joyful letter from prison. Whatever the circumstances, Paul had learned to be content, finding real joy as he focused all of his attention and energy to knowing Christ and obeying him.
Paul's desire to know Christ above all else is wonderfully expressed in the following words: "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him...I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (3:8-10). May we share Paul's aspiration and seek to know Jesus Christ more and more. Rejoice with Paul in Philippians, and rededicated yourself to finding joy in Christ!
I highly urge you guys to check out this awesome but short book. I felt led by the Lord to share this short synposis (i hope i used that word right) of Philippians and encourage anyone to study this book with me! It is way easy to be happy in our Lord Jesus Christ but he commands us to be joyous in all occasions. We can have joy,, even in hardships. Joy does not come from outward circumstances but from inward strength. As Christians, we must not rely on what we have or what we experience to give us joy but on Christ within us.
So guys give me feedback/comments on this note. I don't normally do stuff like this but I gave it a shot =] If i get enough feedback I might start doing this more regularly.
