“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” - Philippians 4:4
Imagine being arrested, guarded by soldiers, put under house captivity, and facing the real possibility of martyrdom. What would your attitude be like? What would be the things that you would write while imprisoned? What would you want to communicate to others? What would you be emotionally experiencing? What would your thoughts of God be?
The Apostle Paul, under house arrest in Rome, wrote the wonderful book of Philippians to the church at Philippi, the first one founded by Paul in Europe. While imprisoned, the Apostle Paul had two priorities; pleasing the Lord and advancing the Gospel. Paul’s focus and mission never ceased, no matter where he was or what circumstance he was facing.
In this book, Paul uses the word joy, five times, and the related verb, rejoice, eight times. In spite of Paul’s imprisonment, the central tone of the letter is joyful. His joy was not something that was tied to his circumstances; his joy was in the Lord. That’s how Paul was able to have unwavering joy; that’s how we can have unwavering joy.
As we study this book, you will discover for yourselves that the theme of this epistle is undoubtedly joy in the Lord, and my prayer is that by the end of our study, your joy will be completely in Christ, overflowing, and unwavering!
You are loved,
Pastor Mark