LifeLink Devotions for Monday, August 5, 2024

Now that we have finished our study on how to stay strong and secure in all the hardships and storms of life, there’s another response to difficulty that needs to be considered. It is not a natural response, but one that is encouraged and commanded in Scripture. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit in us. I am referring to joy. What makes joy possible during the trials and uncertainty of life?

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Philippi while he was in prison, and yet it was his most uplifting and encouraging letter. What makes that kind of joy possible when the circumstances of life were so horrible? I think we will discover from Paul’s letter some wonderful truths that will help us not only know the answer to that question but also experience the reality of it as well.

It is significant that the first statement of joy that Paul makes to the people in Philippi while in his prison cell is based on his relationship with them.

Philippians 1:3-6  “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Relationships are vital to the experience of joy in our lives. Paul calls the people in this church his partners in the Gospel, and it is because of that partnership that he is able to endure hardship. We see this principle worked out in a variety of ways in our everyday lives. Like athletes who press on toward the prize of winning a championship even though they are seriously hurting from an injury because they are surrounded by partners in the pursuit of the goal who support them and carry out their roles.

This is what the people of Philippi were to Paul – partners in the work of bringing people to Christ. Even though Paul was sidelined by his imprisonment he was filled with joy when he thought of the partners he had who were still hard at work to carry out their commission to spread the Good News. I have discovered this joy of partnership in the church. So many pastors have yet to experience it because they are forced to do all the work alone. They are leading a flock of impotent and sterile sheep who are unwilling to propagate the Gospel. Somehow they have gotten the idea that it is the shepherd’s responsibility to produce more sheep. These churches may be filled with people who do all kinds of work in the church but fail to do the necessary work of evangelism in the world. I know the sorrow that is produced in the heart of a pastor when he is leading a church like that.

I also know the joy of being in partnership with people who are experiencing the finishing work of God in their lives. They are at work in the church and in the world with the primary focus of their work being the salvation of lost souls.  They are growing in their love for Jesus Christ, which is expressed in their abounding love for each other. (see Philippians 1:9-11). They are striving for purity and holiness, and their lives are filled with the fruit of righteousness so that it is obvious in how they live every day that they belong to Jesus Christ.

I praise God for such partnerships in the Gospel. When things go wrong on any given day, and hardship comes, we can be filled with joy anyway because of those partnerships, knowing that others are serving our Lord and Savior with all of their heart. I trust that your partnership with me brings you the same joy.

Pastor John