I’ve got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy……Where?

I have been pondering on the word “Joy” lately.  I know that it is not something that I can sum up in one blog post.  But it is something that I can study and work toward. 

A few years ago, my husband was away on a trip and I was at home with our newborn and I was not in a good mood.  Could have had something to do with sleep deprivation, but when my husband called to check in on us I was not a joyful person to talk to.  At least that is what my husband told me.  In fact, I was in such a bad mood he wasn’t going to chat with me anymore.  Of course I tried to change my attitude because I did miss him and I wanted to hear his voice but he had had enough of my poor attitude.  He said he was going to go and call me back later that evening, only on one condition.  The condition being that when I hang up from our call I had to go to my Bible and turn to Philippians.   I had to read the entire book of Philippians and each time I came across the word joy or rejoice I had to underline it.  Well, I found it 12 times throughout the book and my attitude definitely changed while reading through Philippians.  Paul was in jail when he wrote this letter to his friends in Philippi, and he was able to have joy and rejoice in his circumstance.

When my husband called back my attitude was definitely changed and I couldn’t stop sharing about all that I had learned from my journey through Philippians that evening.  At first, I thought my husband was being a jerk for telling me to go read my Bible, but he knew that it was exactly what I needed.

Well, I think I am in a place where I need it again.  I just started to break in my new ESV Study Bible and I am going to read through the book of Philippians and do some underlining.  I wonder how many I can find in this version!

Challenge: Do you need to join me on this journey through Philippians?  Grab your Bible and a highlighter and find joy and rejoice as you underline what can be yours through our Saviour Jesus Christ.  When your done come back and leave a comment telling me how many you found!