Somewhere Exotic

 

Some months ago I wrote about joy and referred to the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In chapter one of his letter it is entitled, in my Bible, “Joy in Suffering”. Now this seemed to me to be a bit of a stretch, can there really be joy in suffering?
 
When you think that this letter, talking about joy, was written by Paul whilst in prison in Rome and awaiting trial, was indeed something. But bad though that was, Paul also shares with us the list of sufferings that he had already gone through (2 Cor 11:23-28). Just look at that list, five times given 39 lashes, three times beaten with rods, stoned, three times ship-wrecked and one time spending a day and night in the open sea. He goes on about being constantly on the move, in danger from bandits, gentiles, even in danger from his own countrymen, the list goes on.
 
So why was he still able to remain joyful, in fact, in just the fourth verse of the first chapter he says, “….. I always pray with joy”. I guess part of the answer is in knowing the contrast between joy and happiness. We think of happiness usually in terms of holding hands with the one you love, taking a holiday to an exotic location or opening presents on a birthday. It may be the pursuit of money, collecting things or the search for a new experience.
 
All this may seem fine, but what happens when the toys rust, gifts wear out, money is stolen, health deteriorates and the party is over? Sadly, quite often, happiness flees and despair can easily set in.
 
In contrast to this stands joy, which runs deeper and stronger, joy is the quiet, confident assurance of God’s love and work in our lives which will be there no matter what. Happiness depends on things happening, but joy depends on Christ. As the Apostle Paul puts it, “ ….. to live is Christ”.
 
Our faith, love and trust in our Heavenly Father is what makes the difference, yes even in suffering, as Paul shares in his letter. We are, of course, human and sometimes we will want to shout at God and tell Him exactly what we really feel. Now that’s okay, for we have a God who, through Jesus, knows exactly how you’re feeling and, if you let Him, that’s when He will come closer to you.