Choose Joy

3/3/2021

Written By: Nancy Purtlebaugh

Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

September 23, 2009 started out like any other day. My husband left for work, I got one son off to school, and was preparing to take my youngest son to school, where I would be volunteering for the day. Then I received a phone call that would turn my world upside down. My mom had passed away very unexpectedly. Less than 2 weeks later I would receive very similar news. My aunt (who was like another mom to us) was in a fatal car crash. As you can imagine, we were devastated. I’m sure there are plenty of you who can do more than imagine, because you have also received similar, life-altering phone calls.

I remember the thing I didn’t feel afterwards was happy. I felt sad much of the time. Some days I felt like I could barely function. I felt like I was standing still and the world was still turning. If you have ever dealt with any sort of grief, you know what I’m talking about. It was during this time-when I didn’t know what to do or how to feel that God was drawing me closer to Him. When I didn’t feel like leaving the house, I would dive deep into His word. When I felt like I didn’t have words to say to others, I could cry out to Him. I could (and did) say whatever I wanted to and He never made me feel bad, or like I should be feeling another way.

Don’t get me wrong, I had amazing friends and family who were there for me. Who came alongside me and helped get me through that time. I will be forever grateful to those people. This time though, was about God teaching me about Him and our relationship. This was hard to see during this time. Honestly, I just wanted to get back to normal. I didn’t feel like the happy-go-lucky person I used to be. I just wanted to feel happy.

God would use people, His word, and some books I read at the time to teach me about the Joy of Jesus. You see friends, His joy runs deeper than happiness. Happiness is more of a feeling—it is solely based on our circumstances. Happiness is that vacation you took, that awesome present you opened on your birthday, that feeling you get when your boss gives you an unexpected raise. While these things are good things, they can be fleeting and if we don’t have Jesus where does that leave us?

Joy is the quiet and confident assurance of Jesus loving us and being there for us always. Joy is that peace you feel that doesn’t make sense when you are faced with an uncertain situation—the loss of a loved one, a scary diagnosis, losing all your belongings in a house fire, divorce, etc. Joy is different than happiness because it isn’t based on a feeling, but is fully based on a person. That person is Jesus. Knowing Jesus more and more will lead you to this Joy.

Philippians is a book in the bible written by a man named Paul. He wrote this letter to the Philippians who were Christ followers to remind them that joy is found in Jesus Christ alone. Paul had reason to be upset and discouraged at this time. He wrote this letter while sitting in a Roman prison. (If you have never read the book of Philippians, go read it today-you will be=

blessed!) Paul’s desire to know Christ above all else was what allowed him to have joy during this time! He was not focused on his circumstances, but on knowing Jesus and encouraging the other believers. He wrote these words in Philippians 3:7-11

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 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, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 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, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Let’s CHOOSE this Joy today friends-to know Christ more and more!! Not ignoring our painful circumstances, but placing them in the hands of the One who can give us the peace and comfort we need to get through each day.