Paul In Bound Of Joy

Paul is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. He lived his life with so much joy and, honestly, set the tone for Christians throughout history. Paul lived his life so well that his story should inspire us all to live with joy through everything. Paul was a man of real joy, and he taught four vital lessons while in prison through the letter in Philippians. Paul’s joy radiated through his writing from prison. He teaches the idea that in the trial there can be a victory. In the book Bound for Joy, it says, “Paul talks a lot about joy and rejoicing not the ‘I’ve got a wonderful feeling, everything is going my way’ kind of joy, but a remarkable joy that he could experience in prison when things were going wrong,” (Briscoe 2).

Paul writes “do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. and the peace of God which transcends all understand will guard your heart and mind in Jesus Christ” (Philippians 4:6 and 7). After reading a book on joy in Christ, I see that Paul sets up a way for us to get joy and peace all we must do is do what he asks. First, he says “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4), Gromacki says “constant rejoicing should be an integral part of the believer’s inner response to both life’s pleasant and difficult situations” (Gromacki 104). Second, Paul says to be gentle; this speaks to just being in good relations with everyone. “if a person doesn’t have peace with God or others than they can never have inner peace” (Gromacki 104). Third, Paul says to be alert to the divine presence. Paul affirms that the Lord is near. “the presence or absence of inner peace will be in direct proportion to one's awareness of the presence of Jesus Christ” (Gromacki 104). The fourth thing we need to do is not worry about anything, which is easier said than done. God even says we do not need to worry about the necessities because that kind of worry can cause lack of faith. The last part of gaining Gods peace is to pray about everything. “when believers are controlled by the holy spirit they will manifest both joy and peace.” (Gromacki