The Secret of Joy

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.  (Philippians 3:1a)


   Paul wrote a letter to the Philippians to share his secret of joyful Christian living.  At least 19 times in these four small chapters we find the words joy, rejoicing, or gladness.

   The strange thing is that Paul had no reason to be joyful.  He was bound in prison, chained to a guard 24/7 with no public platform to preach the gospel.  The thought of being beheaded didn't present a rosy outlook.  To matters worse, the Roman believers were divided: some were for Paul and some were against him.  (Phil. 1:15-17).

   In spite of these circumstances, Paul was filled with joy.  What was the secret of his joy?  How could he remain joyful being shut up away from his followers?

   The secret can be found in his use of the word mind.  Paul mentions the word mind 10 times, and the word think 5 times.  If you include the word remember, you have a total of 16 reference to the mind. What does this tell us about the secret of joy?  We can conclude that Christian joy is found in the manner in which a believer thinks - his attitudes.  The writer of Proverbs says, "As a man thinketh in his heart (mind) so is he:"  (Prov. 23:7a KJV)  


   Let your mind be the mind of Christ today!