I’m a person of order. I like schedules and lists that keep me focused and on track in fulfilling life obligations and responsibilities. I have never “flown by the seat of my pants” very well and have flirted with falling off the edge of everything reasonable over a missing calendar.
Naturally, I was excited to learn that Paul outlines an order for finding joy in the first two chapters of Philippians. Unfortunately, I’m also struck by the realization that Paul’s prescription for joy challenges my well-ordered life.
In her Precepts for Life study, Count It All Joy, Kay Arthur provides a simple equation for ordering your life in a way that cultivates joy-
Jesus is first; Others are second; You are third = JOY
It’s clear that in Paul’s life, Jesus Christ was first; in fact, it may be more accurate to say that Jesus and the gospel of Christ was all of his life. We hear his heart in 1:21 as he says, “for to me, to live is Christ.” The ESV Bible study note explains it this way: “For Paul, life is not a matter of seeking his own comfort or advancement. It is all about seeking the advancement of Christ’s kingdom.” Paul has positioned himself as a bond servant of Jesus Christ. He has laid down the rights to his own life and is pouring himself out to proclaim and advance the good news.
Even from a prison cell, Paul stands firm, living his life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, and he encourages the Christians in Philippi to do the same. He reminds them of the benefits that they enjoy in Christ Jesus. In 2:1, he identifies the blessings of love, encouragement, and comfort, along with fellowship in the Spirit and affection for one another.
But these are not simply blessings to enjoy; they are intended for exercising, using, or appropriating in relationships with others. When this occurs, Paul says, joy is complete. (Philippians 1:2)
Today’s PIC offers practical prayer support for ordering your life according to Paul’s equation for joy-
It takes an intentional strategy of prayerful obedience to reset the order of your heart and mind so that Jesus is first and others are second. While this directly opposes the way of the world and my natural flesh, it is the attitude of Christ Jesus that we are called to in Philippians 2:6-8.
“Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!”
I’m convicted that in my economy there is much that demands my own way, my own comfort, my own desires. In light of this, I’m doing some personal inventory and asking God to show me where I need to get over myself or better yet where I need to die to self. These are places where I’m stuck- thinking about what I want or think I have to have in order to be full of joy. I’m asking God by His Spirit to help me die so that I can live to Christ and consider others before myself.
I’m asking God to quicken my ears to the still small voice reminding me that in the economy of God’s Kingdom, I will never be first . . . because His Kingdom is not about me at all . . .
In God’s Kingdom Jesus is first; Others are second; You and me are third = JOY
Micah 6:8; Matthew 22:34-40; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 4:1-3
(additional references for study and prayer)
Daily PICs for Life 