The Perspective of Joy
Philippians 4:4-7, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
I want so much to be one of those joyful, happy people. I want to overflow joy so that my kids experience joy, and my husband, and co-workers, and all of those around me. But if you find yourself like me and in the middle of caring for others with trauma, deep needs, and walking through the dark realities of life that many want to avoid - it can seem almost impossible to actually be. joyful. Instead, I often feel like the only option is to be numb and maybe in that state I could conjure up some pretend joy so that those around me would feel it in a moment or two.
Always." Really?! — What Philippians 4:4 Actually Says
Reading Philippians 4:4, it is clear that is not what God has intended for us. Numb is not joy. “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice!” The command is clear - always. It is supposed to be a constant. The confusion of what that means can come with an easy misreading of that sentence. It does NOT say, “Always be full of joy.” It says, “Always be full of joy in the Lord.” That is an important distinction that suddenly makes joy possible.
Joy is only found in the Lord. It is through receiving salvation from Jesus. It is then being in His presence. Joy is found in who He is, in His salvation, in His promise, in His majesty, in His power, in His faithfulness – it only exists through the perfect, powerful presence of the Lord. I cannot conjure up a feeling of joy no matter how perfect my circumstances may be for a moment. I can only be full of joyin the Lord. Those three words demand a complete shift in perspective. It’s not a command to try harder to be joyful - it is an invitation to rest in the perfect joy of the Lord. In who He is - all the time. Not in what I can try to be - sometimes.
How to Shift Your Perspective to Joy in the Lord
Remember.
Verse 4:4, “Remember the Lord is coming soon.” It’s easy to gloss over this part of the passage. Yeah, yeah, Jesus will come back, we know. But how does that help me in the now? Perspective shift. Am I looking at my life daily with that perspective? All that is here and now is so brief even though it feels like hard things can go on forever. But in the eternal perspective, it’s not long and my focus should be on the eternal things. Reframe the perspective of what today really is, and then move on to the action of finding joy.
Don’t Worry. (verse 4:6)
Verse 4:6 - “Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.” I can easily get hung up on the first part, "don't worry about anything.” Are you kidding?! As an all-the-time mom to five children, and a sometimes foster mom to four additional children,that is literally impossible. It’s actually my job to keep the world spinning from school, appointments, bills, food, activities, caring for medical disabilities, emotions, work, staff, advocacy, all of it. For years of my experiencing the secondary trauma of going through hard things on behalf of those I care for, the only way not to worry seemed to be the escaping, the numbing, the shutdown of all emotions. I don’t worry if I don’t feel. I just go. I robot. I power my way through. But the Bible gives an alternate path to experiencing joy here.
Instead. (verse 4:6)
This is so comforting to me because it is an action. I don’t just have to somehow stop feeling, stop doing, and remove worry from my life - I replace it. Instead. Instead of worry, “pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all he has done.”
I cannot just make myself stop worrying, but I can replace that with an acknowledgement of God and who He is and what He is capable of (remember that “Joy in the Lord?” that’s where we are hanging out now). I am a do-er. I need an action to make myself feel like I’m making a difference. This passage says, don’t worry, and the next step is “instead.” There is a checklist! So what do I do instead of worrying? God is inviting me to pray about everything to put my mind and heart in right perspective. I am human, weak, powerless to control circumstances. He is God.
Pray. About everything.
So instead of worrying, I pray. And not just pray…. but I “pray about everything.” (Verse 4:5) Every second there is a worry, replace that with a prayer. Everything becomes an action, a turning, a giving to a Father in heaven. A position of right perspective. Everything goes to God because everything is from Him, within His power, within His understanding, within His time.
Tell God What You Need.
“Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (vs. 4:6) If I'm praying about everything, then I’m automatically telling Him about everything. All. The. Time. I don’t pause to craft a God-worthy prayer. I don’t stop and decide if God can actually answer the prayer. I don’t predetermine which things I will let the God of the universe hear. I tell Him what I need. Tell Him. It’s an ongoing dialogue with the God of the universe. It’s the replacement of worry. It is the “instead.” Praying about everything - simply means telling God everything that I need. Then resting in the trust that God is big enough, strong enough, powerful enough, and loving enough to decipher what He will do about it. I’m not hedging my bets and protecting myself from disappointment by not asking and telling God what I need in case he doesn’t “answer.” I’m just giving every little thing to Him and letting Him work it out. My only job is to tell God. As the one who thought it was my job to keep the world spinning - how freeing that is!
Thank Him for All He Has Done.
I can tell you from experience, once you start this constant conversation of praying about everything and telling God what you need - the thanking automatically comes. Every situation, moment, tangible need, hard emotion, it has all gone through a conversation with God as part of “pray about everything” and so my eyes are now open to see how He is at work in all it. I can thank him for the little things and the big things. If I am praying about everything then I am thanking God about everything. A right perspective is formed. The pity party and overwhelm goes away. It’s all God.Things are good because He is good.
Here is the best part… the then.
“Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and mind if you live in Christ Jesus.” (vs. 4:7) What a promise! There is a checklist to right perspective, and then a promise of ongoing peace.
There is joy.
