Finding Joy in the Midst of Chaos

How are you coping with these strange times these days? In just the past week, I’ve seen three different people talk about the position we take. That is what I call a God-incidence.

One person was a speaker at a conference for women, an author friend, another is a blogger friend who writes amazing devotions, the third person was a pastor who spoke at our church via live stream this past Sunday. All three made us stop and think.

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS

Biltmore Church is where we’ve been worshiping for the past several months. Online, of course. During our services, we’re currently in a study on the book of Philippians, Paul’s letter to the church at Phillipi, Greece. The scripture for the day was Philippians 1: 12-14.

Paul is telling them that his imprisonment has actually worked to advance the Gospel. Because he was thrown into prison because of his beliefs, word has spread and believers are becoming bolder and bolder in spreading the Word. He even says they are speaking without fear.

In other words, he is not letting his circumstances keep him from finding joy. He chooses to be joyful even though he is imprisoned. There is reason to rejoice as his purpose, to spread the good news, is finding a foothold, even during his quarantine (imprisonment).

I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media about people boldly going forth and spreading the good news of the Gospel. It makes me wonder if we would have done so had we not been in these circumstances, in this time of sheltering-in-place. Is our imprisonment making us bold? I don’t know about you, but it certainly seems so.

FINDING JOY

How we see these days depends on the position we take. Our attitude. Paul chose to find joy in his days of confinement. He found joy in knowing that the Gospel, word of the Risen Christ, was being spread through the praetorium, the prison guards. Paul was happy to suffer for the sake of Christ. Indeed, in Philippians 1: 21 (NASB), he declares, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. It was all about his attitude.

How has your attitude been during these days of being at home? I know it hasn’t been easy. So many have lost jobs or have been furloughed. Many don’t know if they will have a job once all is said and done. What is going to happen when school starts again? Will our kids be safe when they do return? In how many ways will our lives be different?

There are no easy answers. All I know is that I trust God. He knows the future (Jeremiah 29: 11).  If you’ve read the Book, then you know the ending. For now, I’m choosing to trust an unknown future to a known God. That is all I can do. And I find joy in that, because in the words of The Bible Recap’s Tara Leigh Cobble, He is where the joy is.

Finding Joy in the Midst of Chaos #writing #faith Share on X

 

END NOTES

Let me invite you again, to join us in reading the Bible chronologically. There is no better time to begin than today. Don’t worry that you didn’t begin on January 1. We didn’t either. We were late to it but we’re so glad we’re doing this. Many of our family are reading along with us. We’re all at different stages. Some have finished the Old Testament and are already in the New. Some of us are moving at a much faster pace than others. My husband and I are in the book of Numbers.

I promise you, if you’ve never read the Bible in this manner, you will not believe all the things you may have missed by not having done so. We’ve learned so much.

Here is what we are using:  You Version Bible. We find it on Spotify and let the narrator read it aloud to us as we follow along on our phones. Then we hop over to The Bible Recap and join Tara Leigh Cobble as she tells us a bit about what we’ve read. You can follow this on YouTube, but there is no video. We have found that we like to follow The Bible Project to get an overview, complete with illustrations, of the book we are about to read.

Do keep a journal. You will want to take notes on what speaks to you. For doing gorgeous Bible journaling, ideas for that, go over to my friend’s Pinterest page. Patricia Tiffany Morris. https://www.patriciatiffanymorris.com

Her artwork is amazing. She has great ideas that don’t require anything but writing and coloring in words. It’s lovely. Blessings, y’all!