11/21/2016 How To Be Thankful in a Grumpy World!Scriptures: Philippians 1:1-8
From these scriptures, we can observe 3 things about Paul the writer of Philippians. He had joy in his life, a positive outlook and he was an optimistic person. But we also know from his writing that his circumstances were not ideal. He was in jail, in chains and on trial for his life. He was physically weak. He was under attack from fellow Christians who distrust him. Paul had every reason to be angry and miserable! Yet instead he had joy, thanksgiving, gratitude, confidence and deep affection for other Christians. Paul teaches us that we cannot always control what happens to us, but we do have control of how we respond. Take a moment and ask yourself the question: Which is harder: to be in prison or out? The correct answer is: it depends. There are people in prison who have freedom in life through Jesus Christ. There are people who are physically free yet have chains of bitterness, anger, lust, despair, greed, lack of forgiveness, addictions, etc. Thanksgiving and joy are not dependent on our circumstances, but on a living relationship with Jesus Christ. If you build your life on circumstances, you are going to be grumpy. God’s prescription for joy: J – Jesus 1st O – Others 2nd Y – Yourself 3rd When Jesus is 1st in your life, you can have joy that goes beyond your circumstances. Comments are closed.
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