The world is chaotic right now. It feels like a tinderbox ready to explode. We’ve become numb to a tool of the enemy that has become commonplace in our modern society: catastrophizing. Catastrophizing is thinking the worst about every bad situation. It is expected that the most unsavory outcome will surely happen. We’re numb to it because it has become the everyday language of mass media, social media, and the deeply divided world we find ourselves in. Unironically catastrophizing is also a common practice for those suffering from mental illness. It’s a common feature if you’ve gone through depression or an anxiety disorder to begin thinking the worst about everything. Our leaders and influencers are now pumping our systems full of anxiety right now. Even suggesting, “If you’re not with me, in this catastrophized reality I’m pushing, then you’re part of the problem.” No wonder it feels like a tinder box.
If we’re not intentional, our hearts will be overcome with darkness.
Add that to the everyday difficulties of life, struggles at work, a marriage falling apart, you’re at the end of the rope with your kids, you’re in some relational turmoil, maybe a nasty sin or habit has its grips in you, or someone close to you has died. It feels natural to isolate. To think, no one understands what I’m going through.
How to Find Joy When Life is Tough: 3 Biblical Ways to Practice Gratitude
I take you to a letter in the bible called Philippians. Paul is writing to a church he started some ten years earlier. Paul was writing under death-defying circumstances. He was in a Roman prison awaiting execution. He was in pain, and he was under 24-hour house arrest chained to a Roman soldier, and had been largely abandoned by his closest friends and ministry colleagues. The Philippian church heard of Paul’s situation and sent gifts and provisions to his prison cell in spite of their own difficult season of suffering. So, Paul in his darkest hour wrote to the church in their darkest hour, and guess what the prevailing theme of the letter is? Not pain, not suffering, not catastrophizing, not even heaven.
The theme of Philippians is joy, which begs the question, how do you find joy when life is tough? One key to unlocking a joyful heart is the practice of gratitude.
1. Practice Gratitude by consistently thanking God for the people in your life.
Paul says in Philippians 1:3-5, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Paul is saying, every time you come to mind, every time I remember you, I’m thankful and filled with joy. So, Paul’s memory is feeding his gratitude. What might he be remembering? Maybe times in worship, or meals that they shared. Maybe when they first came to Christ, or when the Philippian jailer nearly killed himself before Paul led him to Christ. So he says, every time you come to mind, I thank God for you!
He then elaborates by saying that the prayers of thanksgiving that he prays, bring him joy. The original word is “chara,” where we get words like charisma and charismatic. It simply means a deep-seated inner gladness or delight. Remember this inner delight is flowing from the prayers, specifically prayers of thanksgiving, Paul is praying whenever he remembers his friends from Philippi. Specifically, their partnership in the gospel. He’s thankful for their friendship and their fellowship that was founded, forged, and crystallized around their love of Jesus. There’s no one who can bring depth, unity, and joy to a relationship like Jesus.
So, if you want to unlock some joy in your life, begin by thanking God for the people in your life who are connected to you through Christ. Maybe your family, your mom and dad, or spouse or kids, maybe a mentor or a pastor. Think about the small groups you’ve been a part of, people you’ve met with for bible studies, colleagues who encouraged your faith. Call them to mind, and practice gratitude by thanking God for them. The beginnings of joy will start to percolate in your soul.
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We can also learn from Paul’s simple approach to prayer. We sometimes think that for prayer to “count,” we need to set aside 30 minutes or 60 minutes for intense prayer. But Paul says simply, “As I remember you, I pray for you.” So, whenever you think of someone, pray for them, and when you pray for them, begin by thanking God for them.
Just imagine for a moment. What if you did that? What if instead of complaining about people, judging people, gossiping, questioning peoples’ motives, blaming people, and putting them in a political box…what if instead, you thanked God for them. Do you think that would raise your joy quotient?
Thank God for the role they’ve played in your life, for all that they’ve done for you, for the good things they’ve done for others. Even if you’re having conflict with that person, thank God that he or she is giving you the opportunity to grow spiritually, learn forgiveness, and be more patient. If you try, you can find something to be thankful for in just about anyone.
2. Practice gratitude by remembering that God isn’t finished with you yet.
Then Paul says in Philippians 1:6, And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Many people consider this one of the greatest verses in the entire Bible. Paul says he is sure he is utterly convinced, fully persuaded, he’s confident. In what? Well, he’s not confident in the people of Philippi, as great as we just found out that they are. That’s not where Paul’s confidence rests. His confidence rests in God who will complete His work in them all.
This, too, adds to Paul’s joy. As our confidence in God goes, so goes our joy. God finishes what He starts. He is not only the initiator of our salvation but also the sustainer of that work in us until it’s completed. And because God is so involved, we can be confident and have joy. God takes personal responsibility for completing His work in you. This is a very comforting thought.
Salvation always begins with God. He makes the first move, and if he didn’t make the first move, we would make no move at all. God is the initiator of salvation. I’ve had so many conversations with people who are early in their faith journey and they’ll describe these little promptings in their life that maybe they should turn to God. They’ll say, “Three different people talked to me about faith in one day, and it made me wonder if God was trying to get my attention.” I always say the same thing, ‘If the God of the Bible is pursuing you, I doubt you’ll outrun Him.” God initiates our salvation.
The mistake we make is to think that after God saves us, it’s up to us to grow. But we are just as dependent upon His grace for our sanctification as we are for our salvation. This verse says that He takes responsibility to save us, to sustain us, and to bring His work in us to its ultimate completion.
3. Practice gratitude by expressing words of affection toward others
Finally, Paul says in Philippians 1:7-8; It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Paul explains his affection this way: He has a personal commitment: “I hold you in my heart.” There is a shared identity: “You are all partakers with me of grace.” There is divine testimony: “God is my witness.” And then he concludes, “How I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” What’s he doing? Paul is putting into words his affection and love for his friends.
Notice the source of his love was not Paul himself. He said he loved the Philippians with “the affection of Christ Jesus.” In other words, Paul allowed Jesus’ love to flow through him toward the people in his life. Paul would also say in I Thessalonians 3:12, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other.”
It’s the love of Christ that makes the depths of friendship possible. We have something so deeply in common that it overwhelms all our other similarities, we’re all partakers in grace. And it’s in Christian community when eventually masks come off, conversations get deep, hearts get vulnerable, lives are shared, accountability is invited, and affection grows.
In a church where this kind of love abounds, people become like brothers and sisters. Are brothers and sisters a pain in the butt sometimes? Oh yes! But there is a deeply centered identity and love. Churches where people tap into this deep source of love are happy, JOYFUL places. The world can counterfeit the love of Jesus, but it can’t duplicate it. This is why people go to bars, join social organizations, kids join gangs, and get addicted to social media. Men and women desperately want this kind of deep relationship, but they don’t have a clue where to find it. The affection Paul had for the Philippians—and they for him―comes only through a shared relationship with Jesus Christ.
The key is to begin to speak words of affection to those in your life. See if your joy doesn’t start to grow!
Now more than ever, Christians need to demonstrate a different way. That joy is possible even in difficult times. The key is the paradox of gratitude. How will you practice gratitude this week?
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