Lesson 14: Joy’s deliverance
Philippians 2:1-30 – www.bible.com/bible/59/php.2
25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,
26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.
27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.
29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men,
30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
In the last lesson we read how God wants us to care for each other as believers in both joy and sorrow. We continue in this lesson as we read how Paul returned the messenger the Philippians had sent to him. Sending this young man back home was sharing the joy of victory with the people of Philippi.
Sometimes victory can seem very hard to find. It doesn’t matter if it is over temptation or a sin we fall into much too easily, it can seem like victory will never be ours. This is when joy can be a wonderful shield for us. But we rarely find joy by ourselves in such situations – we need other believers to help. In this situation, Paul sent the young man back home so he could share his victory over an illness which had nearly killed him. His joy of victory would be passed on to others, and knowing this to be true even helped Paul, for he could be less anxious for all of them.
Remember, joy is not an emotion based on our circumstances, rather it is the result of a choice we make resulting in the gift of joy from God. We begin by thanking God for the circumstances around us, the very things which seem so hard for us. An example would be – if I am facing temptation for a sexual sin, my prayer to God might be something like this:
Father, I thank You for allowing this temptation to sin with this sexual act into my life because through it You have brought to my attention my weakness in this area. I cannot defeat this temptation in my own strength, and without You to help me I will fall. I don’t want to fall, and Your promise is You have already made a way of escape for me. So as I run from this temptation, lead me to Your place of escape – I desire to bring only glory to You and never shame.
*For what difficult circumstance in your life right now could you choose to thank God, even though you haven’t experienced His deliverance yet? With whom will you share your joy, even before the Lord delivers you?