Inspired by . . . Day 21: JOY in obedience

Inspired by . . . Day 20: JOYful not ... Inspired by . . . Day 22: the JOY of ...

Inspired by . . . Day 21: JOY in obedience

This post is part of a 31 day series on JOY

You may access all the past days by clicking here.

I want you to know, my friends, that the things that have happened

to me have really helped the progress of the gospel.
As a result, the whole palace guard and all the others here

know that I am in prison because I am a servant of Christ.
And my being in prison has given most of the believers

more confidence in the Lord, so that they grow bolder all the

time to preach the message fearlessly. Phil 1:12-14

kk_monday and kk_waterfront18_totry

If you kept reading after the word obedience, I commend you! It’s a word that makes many of us uncomfortable, and in my experience, there is very little about it preached from the pulpit today.

Note: You may wish to {re} visit Day 13 and Day 15 because today’s thoughts really tie the two together.

As we read Paul’s words in Philippians, it’s important to remember that he wasn’t just imprisoned. I think in our culture we may have a rather benign view of what prison can be. Paul had been flogged, beaten, shipwrecked and denied his freedom. Yet, he counted all JOY because the things that happened to him had served to progress the gospel.

True JOY can be found in adversity, but it’s not a result of ‘pulling up our bootstraps’ or ‘putting on our big-girl panties’ {insert your phrase of choice here} and pressing through. No, JOY in adversity comes when we are obedient to God’s will in our circumstances. You see, Paul had been forewarned about his fate. His journey was an act of obedience. You can read about it in Acts 21.

It’s not really about adversity at all. As I’ve shared in a previous post, some people have a harder time being obedient when things are going well. When it’s all roses with no thorns. Wasn’t that the prayer of the wise scribe in Sunday’s post? “Lest I be full, and deny Thee”

What brings God more JOY than anything else on earth?

The spirit of obedience gives more JOY to God than anything else on earth.

When the love of God is shed abroad in my heart (Romans 5:5),

I am possessed by the nature of God, and I know by my obedience that I love Him.

The best measure of a spiritual life is not its ecstasies, but its obedience.

Obedience in ALL things, of course. Not just when we face trials. Although we may need encouragement the most during those times; let us be careful not to deny Him in times of plenty. Let us never refuse to attend the banquet. {Colleen Mitchell wrote an inspiring piece on this parable last week!}