The Choice to Rejoice
I read this week that Chuck Swindoll is retiring from public ministry. He turns 90 years old next week, so I guess you might excuse him for finally giving it a rest. In a world where so many notable high-profile pastors and writers have come and gone--many of whom have fallen in disgrace--Swindoll has remained humble and faithful through it all.
It didn’t always come easy for him. He grew up with a stutter, but eventually overcame that with the help of his high school drama teacher. He later felt the call to preach, so when he got out of the Marines, he went to Dallas Theological Seminary to train. There, he lived next door to my mentor in ministry, Mickey Park, and I remember Mickey telling me stories about their antics in the student housing.
Swindoll began pastoring his first church all the way back in 1963, and he has been faithfully serving the Lord and the church ever since. He also founded a worldwide radio and online ministry that aired his sermons, called Insight for Living, and he served as the president, and later, the chancellor of Dallas Seminary.
He is best known to most Christians for his Biblically based and practically applicable writing, including more than 90 books he has authored. Swindoll's books have blessed me for years, even before I started pastoring, and I always appreciated his positive, joyful spirit that permeates his writings. One of my favorite of his books is his exposition of the book of Philippians, which he entitled "Laugh Again."
He began that book with these words: "I know of no greater need today than the need for joy. Unexplainable, contagious joy. Outrageous joy. When that kind of joy comes aboard our ship of life, it brings good things with it--like enthusiasm for life, determination to hang in there, and a strong desire to be of encouragement to others. Such qualities make our voyage bearable when we hit the open seas and encounter high waves of hardship that tend to demoralize and paralyze. There is nothing better than a joyful attitude when we face the challenges life throws at us."
There is certainly a shortage of genuine joy in today's world. There's plenty of angst and complaining and depression and despondency. But we as a society seem to be severely deficient in joy. All of our technology and intelligence haven't produced it. All of our entertainment options hasn't provided it. All of our pleasures still leave us searching for it. Something tells me, like the old country song, that we are looking for joy in all the wrong places.
The word joy appears over and over in the Scriptures, especially in the Psalms. The psalmists wrote, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Ps. 30:5) and “Shout for joy to God, all the earth” (Ps. 66:1). Likewise, in the New Testament, Jesus said that He came that His joy would be in us, and thus, our joy would be made full. (John 15:11). We also read that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22), which means that it is a Christian virtue. Joy should be one of the defining characteristics of our lives as Christ-followers.
Many people misunderstand what true joy is. The Bible describes it as something that is an inside-out thing. It is different than happiness, which, by definition "happens" to us from the outside in and thus is dependent on circumstances. Joy is a state of mind that we experience, no matter the circumstances, especially as we understand how blessed we are as recipients of God's grace.
That's why the apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I say rejoice." He was calling his readers then, and us now, to make the choice to rejoice...and it was so important, that he repeated it! And again, the fact that it is not circumstantial is obvious, in that Paul wrote that from the bottom of a Roman prison.
In many ways, that verse is the theme of his letter to the church at Philippi, which we will be studying together, starting this Sunday, Oct. 6, in both our new “JoyFull” sermon series, and our adult Life Group Bible studies. I sure hope you can be with us during this series, and that you too will choose the joy of the Lord, which will be your strength.(Nehemiah 8:10)
I am praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
--Pastor Ken
