Week 2 IBS- Philippians 4:4

Friday October 24, 2014

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

J is for Jesus, O is for others, and Y is for you. “You grow up when you get your first laugh at yourself” (A quote from a famous Shakespearean actress). I was reading along in “The Bumps Are What You Climb On” by Warren W. Wiersbe and today, chapter twenty-six just screamed volumes. It is titled Put Joy into Your Life. Many verses were mentioned in this chapter, but Philippians 4:4 was one of them and I happened to read that chapter yesterday; verse four is what stuck out to me then.

            A few things mentioned in this chapter of “The Bumps Are What You Climb On” were sin and disobedience to God causes a loss of joy, as well as neglecting the Word of God and forgetting to pray. All things are obviously quite essential for joy, but I tend to forget sometimes. I allow discouragement to creep in, but God doesn’t discourage, He encourages, He only discourages sin. Every time I feel discouraged, I need to remember to turn back to the Lord and pray and rejoice. I have a hope for the future, not only with my physical body and life because Jeremiah 29:11 says so, but also eternity, so why not have joy in that?

“Satan has a harder time tempting the man who has joy in his heart. A joyful Christian is a witnessing Christian because he has something exciting to share with others, and they can see the difference” (Warren W. Wiersbe). How amazing! That is such a good reminder, especially being on the field. Even though there are language barriers and Khmer is very difficult, God not only breaks the language barriers in ways, but He can use the joy that He puts in my heart to speak to others. They would be able to see the difference as Wiersbe says. What a powerful thing God can use in me and what a good reminder.

Application: No matter where I am, life is a struggle at times and God knows what we go through because of Jesus, so I don’t need to fret. Here, there are a million mosquitos and other things I am not used to, yet I am blessed beyond measure. And “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” So for today I write JOY on my hand and be constantly in prayer for joy in my heart and ways I can pour that joy out to others.