Discovering Joy

The apostle Paul really loved the people in all the churches he had planted. We see that in the letters he wrote to them. He wanted to go and visit them, but was very often unable to because of the circumstances he found himself in. We know that he constantly prayed for them to grow and mature in their Christian faith. He wrote this to the Christians in Philippi. ‘Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy’ (Philippians 1:3-4).

Two thousand years later his advice to them is still relevant and powerful enough to strengthen me spiritually. He wrote this to the Christians in Thessalonica, ‘Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus’ (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). It seems that Paul had a lot of joy, even though he went through so much suffering for the gospel. Last year this message impacted me so much that I decided to memorise it (even making up a tune and singing the words to myself), and try to really put it into practice in my daily life.

Paul also wrote about joy to the Christians in Rome, ‘For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14:17, ESV).

I recently heard a sermon on ‘Discovering Joy’ in which the speaker was commenting on Paul’s letter to the Church in Philippi and using our text for today, Philippians 1:9-10. He said, “When you focus on serving others, and ministering to them, and loving them, your own joy is experienced in a way that is deeper and more beautiful in your life. Letting love abound to someone else will always stir your joy. We have to realise this does not happen automatically. Paul prays that it will happen. He wouldn’t have to pray that if it was automatic. You have to make a choice.”

He went on to make the point that we have to define for ourselves what is important, and we need a have a list of priorities. Otherwise, we treat everything as important and experience too much stress. (This advice was particularly helpful to me around Christmas time).

So, in 2025 I still want to choose to be thankful in all circumstances, to keep on praying, and to be joyful, but also, I want to more intentionally choose to love others and serve them. I also need to understand and discern what really matters, so that I don’t waste my time worrying about unimportant things.