Wednesday; February 26

Not long ago I asked a group of believers to define “Christian joy”. We were about to launch into a study of the New Testament book of Philippians and, before we got too deep into it, we needed to have an understanding of this theme. So, if you weren’t there, let me ask you – what is Christian joy?

Typically, when we think about joy, we consider the situation we find ourselves in … we think about happiness. Yet, joy seems to be much greater than our circumstances. Joy is more than happiness, it is a commitment to being positive about life. James seems to delineate between the two when he writes, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials …” (James 1:2). How can we have “trials” and “joy” at the same time – it all boils down to attitude and the best way to keep a good attitude is by relying on a belief that God is going to take care of us.

We’re all going to face challenges in our lives, but let’s hang on to a belief that God cares about us and will be with us each step of the way. No, that doesn’t mean everyday will be sunshine and rainbows, but it does mean that no matter what is happening we can be positive that He will be there with us.

Think About It!


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