“The problem for most of us is we allow joy robbers to come in and steal that sweet sense of contentment and purpose. .. . . Paul didn’t tell us how we can avoid these joy robbers — it is not possible. Paul faced each one of these robbers in the most intense way and yet he ended up writing the treatise on joy.”- Randy Frazee
“Outlook determines outcome.”- Dr. Warren Wiersbe
Randy Frazee concludes his Introduction to The Joy Challenge as he notes that the apostle Paul used various forms of the word joy sixteen times in his letter to the Philippians. Most significantly, Paul used the Greek word chara to express our English word for joy.
Therefore, people with chara possess an inner sense of contentment and purpose in their life. However, we allow bandits to steal our joy. So, Paul addressed four such bandits.
1. Circumstances. Either our current circumstances stink or the circumstances we prefer change.
2. People. Other people enter our space and mess with us. As a result, these people throw us off our game. Hence, they do things like lie about us or to us and undermine us or betray us.
3. Past. Here the trauma of our past serves as a roadblock. Therefore, we find ourselves stuck and unable to move forward.
4. Worry. Anxiety and worry riddle us. Certainly, in some cases we know the source of our uptight feelings. But in other cases, we have no idea where our worry originates. Or how to find a way to dig out of our hole.
In conclusion, Rany offers a clue to the secret of the apostle Paul’s success. Success comes down to your mindset. Because, in addition to using the word joy sixteen times in Philippians, Paul also used the word mind sixteen times.
Consequently, a definite cause and effect relationship exists between the two words. How you think and what you think drives your joy quotient. Thus, your attitude, perspective, and beliefs govern where you end up on any given day.
Today’s question: Which of the four joy-based bandits steal the most joy from you? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Tracing the concept of joy”
