December 16
More than that, I also consider everything to be
a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord
–Philippians 3:8a
I have heard it said that happiness is “because of” while joy is “in spite of.” Happiness is a direct result of our circumstances — we are only happy when our circumstances are “good.” On the other hand, joy is something that we can have no matter what we face. Paul is someone who urges us in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
But that begs the question, Paul, how can we have joy always, in spite of our circumstances?
In the verses preceding Philippians 3:8, Paul lists seven things that he had both by birth and by choice in his life. This was no mere list of accolades, but the things from which Paul derived his value, the things Paul looked to in order to provide him joy. For most of Paul’s life, he treasured these things deeply, and from a worldly perspective in his culture, he had it all!
However, everything changed for Paul when he met the ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus. I’m not sure exactly when the switch happened... perhaps right away, maybe in the days following as Paul sat alone in the dark due to his blindness, potentially during the many times he was harshly persecuted for preaching Christ. Regardless of when it happened, the reality is that Paul went from someone who was overseeing the murder of Christians (Acts 9:1, 26:10) to someone who treasured Jesus more than anything else in the world.
What I don’t want us to do is misunderstand what was going on with Paul. Paul did not say that knowing Christ brought him joy because Jesus made his circumstances better. Rather, Paul’s circumstances were often much worse after following and teaching about Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).
a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord
–Philippians 3:8a
I have heard it said that happiness is “because of” while joy is “in spite of.” Happiness is a direct result of our circumstances — we are only happy when our circumstances are “good.” On the other hand, joy is something that we can have no matter what we face. Paul is someone who urges us in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
But that begs the question, Paul, how can we have joy always, in spite of our circumstances?
In the verses preceding Philippians 3:8, Paul lists seven things that he had both by birth and by choice in his life. This was no mere list of accolades, but the things from which Paul derived his value, the things Paul looked to in order to provide him joy. For most of Paul’s life, he treasured these things deeply, and from a worldly perspective in his culture, he had it all!
However, everything changed for Paul when he met the ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus. I’m not sure exactly when the switch happened... perhaps right away, maybe in the days following as Paul sat alone in the dark due to his blindness, potentially during the many times he was harshly persecuted for preaching Christ. Regardless of when it happened, the reality is that Paul went from someone who was overseeing the murder of Christians (Acts 9:1, 26:10) to someone who treasured Jesus more than anything else in the world.
What I don’t want us to do is misunderstand what was going on with Paul. Paul did not say that knowing Christ brought him joy because Jesus made his circumstances better. Rather, Paul’s circumstances were often much worse after following and teaching about Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).
In Jesus, he finally had a firm foundation
to stand on
What was actually going on with Paul was that, in Jesus, he finally had a firm foundation to stand on that enabled Him to endure whatever came His way (Philippians 4:11-13). He realized that putting his faith in the things of this world leads not to joy, but to despair; not to peace, but anxiety; not to life, but to death (Philippians 3:18-19, 4:6-9); and that, as he says in Philippians 3:8, “Everything [is] a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [his] Lord.”
I implore you, for the sake of your joy, to make the main pursuit of your life, getting to know Jesus better (Philippians 3:10). Knowing Jesus is, in fact, what life is all about (John 17:3). One of the best ways we can grow in our relationship with Jesus is through reading His word.
I encourage you to spend time each day reading the scripture, one chapter at a time. The book of John is a great place to start! My prayer is that as you do this, you will see that the Bible is:
... a means to bring men [and women] to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.
–A.W. Tozer
I implore you, for the sake of your joy, to make the main pursuit of your life, getting to know Jesus better (Philippians 3:10). Knowing Jesus is, in fact, what life is all about (John 17:3). One of the best ways we can grow in our relationship with Jesus is through reading His word.
I encourage you to spend time each day reading the scripture, one chapter at a time. The book of John is a great place to start! My prayer is that as you do this, you will see that the Bible is:
... a means to bring men [and women] to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.
–A.W. Tozer
Joy // Everything is a Loss | Andrew Archer
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