Part One
“He that has light within his own clear breast may sit in the center, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself his own dungeon.” John Milton
The old man shifted, hearing in his half-sleep the clink of chains. Pain shot up from his hips as he moved. His back hurt, too, and he knew if he walked, his feet would scream at him. It seemed everything hurt these days.
The man next to him moved, too, and grunted. The chain clanked against the cold cement floor. Fully awake now, the Apostle Paul raised himself to a sitting position, careful not to disturb the two guards who were shackled to him at the ankles.
He rubbed his face and drank from the flask at his elbow. Peering around, he wished for his writing implements, but they sat on the table across the room from the bed which he shared with his Roman guards.
No, he couldn’t write. It was too dark, anyway, and lighting a candle would certainly awaken these two boys. Gavin and Nico. He smiled in the darkness and muffled a cough. Good boys. They had accepted Christ on the second day of their duty with him and had grown in their faith.
Well, if he couldn’t write, and he couldn’t sleep, he might as well pray. He leaned his head back on the wall and started.
“Oh, my Lord and Savior who saved me and brought me to this place by Your great faithfulness and love…”
Joy.
It’s hard to find and harder to keep. Like chasing butterflies, you can only achieve your goal by sitting still and waiting for one to alight on you. What is the secret path to joy?
How can we find joy while living in a broken world with broken people and broken dreams? Most of us shuffle on through our difficulties, murmuring, “I’m fine,” when asked how we are, and yet we are bearing a great burden within.
How can we find joy while suffering pain, and heartache, while shedding tears of sorrow and grief? While facing unresolvable problems and bearing burdens too heavy to carry?
Paul found joy in his imprisonment, the same kind of joy that the Apostle James wrote about in James 1:2 when he said, “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials.”
Through the difficulties and trials of my life, I have come to understand these truths from God’s Word about finding joy despite the circumstances, the people, or the things of this world. What is the secret path to joy?
Here are 3 steps.
- Change your focus.
I can assure you that if we indulge in a pity party for long, it will boomerang on us and cast us deep into discouragement, despair, and misery. With our focus firmly fixed on our needs, our feelings, our lost causes, all the sacrifices we have made, and playing every blaming game coming into our minds that we can think of, we will soon be lower than a snake’s belly.
I know because I’ve been there, done that.
This kind of thinking is defeatism at its finest.
In Phil. 4:8, Paul urges believers to think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, praiseworthy, and excellent. Why? Because when we switch on our brains and train it to think about the positive things in life rather than the negative, God’s Spirit can flood our hearts and minds with joy.
“When you fix your thoughts on God, God fixes your thoughts.” Buddy Owens
Joy comes when we change our focus from me to Christ, and to the positive, beautiful, and wholesome things of life. Bringing Him into the foreground of our thoughts, and shoving those negative thoughts and problems to the background brings us joy.
2. Keep the ministry of the Word and sharing the Gospel forefront in your mind and heart as most important.
The Apostle Paul found great joy in his ministry. Yes, it was a difficult life for him. Yet when he looked back on it, he rejoiced in the fact that God had used him in so many marvelous ways to reach people with the Gospel message and to help them grow in their faith.
When we focus on the eternal aspect of our purpose in doing God’s will on this earth, it lifts us above the trials we face.
Heb. 12:2 states, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorned the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus found joy in His sufferings, even death on the cross, because he looked beyond this world and rejoiced in the fact that He was accomplishing something of great value that would last forever.
When we focus on the Word, sharing it with others, and when our focus is on doing God’s will in ministry with our family, church, and neighborhood, our hearts will sing with joy.
3. Fill your mind with Scripture and songs of praise.
To find the secret path to joy, we should memorize Scripture and fill our homes and vehicles with songs of praise to God.
The Scripture we are memorizing and storing in our hearts will keep us from sin (Psa. 119:11) and will set our minds on the things and truths of God.
I write a Scripture passage on 3×5 cards and carry them around with me. At the stop light or in the dentist’s office, I pull them out and go over my memory work. When I’m walking, I take along my cards and say my verses. It’s a whole lot better than scrolling through Facebook or the news feeds!
Good Christian music can lift our mood in the house and bring us joy on our darkest days. Choose songs that are uplifting, filled with praise, and lyrics that are solidly based on Scripture.
Where is real joy found?
Not in unbelief. Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born.”
Not in pleasure. Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.”
Not in money. Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”
Not in military glory. Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent because, he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”
Where, then, is real joy found? The answer is simple, in Christ alone.
To discover the next three secrets to finding real joy, read Part Two.
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