"Blue Monday". It’s a concept that came into existence with a press release by a British travel company in 2005 to help boost bookings for holidays.
According to the PR, the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year as people recover from over-indulging during Christmas and discover their new year’s resolutions have already broken. Add to that the gloomy weather, and you'd be forgiven for feeling a little flat.
While there is no such thing as 24-hour depression and there is no firm research to back up the "Blue Monday" claim, it doesn't change the fact that life can be difficult. And not just on the third Monday in January.
But as Christians, we have hope. We have a reason to rejoice in all circumstances, even when it's hard.
During our annual Week of Prayer, Kevin Croft, Field Director for London City Mission, encouraged us to look upwards to Jesus and rejoice through the gloom. This is an excerpt of his talk to our staff and missionaries.
It encouraged us greatly. We hope it encourages you too.
Throughout Philippians Paul highlights many reasons to be joyful. We have fellowship with each other and with Christ. We have Christ’s humble example to lead us. And we are made to dwell in God’s presence.
As Paul comes to the end of his letter to the Philippians, he realises there are many things that can get in the way of remaining joyful.
In Chapter 3:1, he says to rejoice in the Lord. And he repeats it in Chapter 4:4.
We are by nature a forgetful people. The Israelites were forgetful, the Philippians were forgetful, and if I am honest, I can be forgetful too.
We just had Christmas a few weeks ago, celebrating the birth of God’s incredible salvation plan for the world.
Yet here I am in January, already forgetting the reasons we have in Christ to be joyful. Instead, I’m starting to think about a new term at school, the ever-expanding email inbox, that situation in the family or that upcoming doctor’s appointment.
Maybe you can already feel the joy seeping away from you too.
But just as Paul reminds the Philippians to be joyful, we need to be reminded not only to be joyful, but the many reasons to be joyful as well.
Paul’s command in Philippians 4:4 can seem a little hard and just out of our grasp. We can have periods of joyfulness but being joyful always can seem a little unrealistic.
But there it is, in black and white, "rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, I will say it again rejoice."
The Philippians needed to be reminded of this and so do we.
It’s not rejoicing in the Lord when all is going well, but also when life is tough. This is a truth that over the next year we will have to continue to remind ourselves to rejoice in the Lord always.
What a difference that would make in our own lives, in the lives our church family, in our witness to the people we know and live amongst, if we could do that.
We can be joyful always, because our joy is not based on success, happiness, or circumstances. Paul’s joyfulness was not based on his comfort. The Philippians joyfulness was not based on their present circumstances.
Our joyfulness should not be based on our career success, our health, our relationships, our personal comfort. None of these are bad things, but they are not promises we can hang all our hopes on.
The Christian concrete assurance of our joyfulness is based on the unchanging nature of who we are in Christ, loved by a faithful God, and assured of his promises that will find their completion in Christ Jesus.
This is why Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord!
The Lord we partner with left the glory and holiness of heaven for the nastiness of Nazareth. He humbled himself as he hung on the cross so that we could be set free.
For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
We have many reasons to be joyful.
Yes, there are things that can sap away our joyfulness.
For the Christians in Philippi their joy was affected by the ongoing relational breakdown between Euodia and Syntyche, these gospel workers who for some reason couldn’t stand the sight of each other.
Relational tension doesn’t promote joyfulness. All of us, I am sure to some extent, can relate to relational breakdown and sadly the church is not immune to the problem. And joyfulness is not always our first response.
Paul is writing from a prison. It's not known for their joyful experiences.
So, let’s be clear, Paul isn’t saying that we should be joyful about things that we should be sad about, but he’s saying that even amidst these things, we Christians can remain joyful.
It makes the message of the gospel even more precious and beautiful as we look to share it with others. For others, who are trying to find joy in all the wrong places.
Another thing that Paul says will rob us of joyfulness is anxiety. Each of us will experience anxiety of some sort. Maybe it’s from the increasing cost of living, health concerns, or family issues.
Anxiety here is different from legitimate fear or danger. I also want to distinguish this from anxiety linked with mental health that may need medical intervention. These fears are not what I’m talking about.
So, how can we remain joyful, not being anxious and letting our day-to-day circumstances affect our joyfulness?
There are three methods Paul puts forward:
The God who made you, knows you, who sent his Son to die for you, the God who you can call Father, longs to hear from you.
We can pray with thanksgiving, with joyful hearts remembering the privilege we can take our concerns both big and small to the God who wants to hear from us, his children.
The ability to do this should mean that we approach God with thanksgiving, with joyfulness.
A joyful prayer is so much more than hot air.
We are promised that as we - in any circumstance, about any situation - get on our knees and pray, then we are offered a peace.
And the peace of God that "passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds." That’s a promise.
It’s not peace that comes from us. Not a fake peace where we say ‘chin up and carry on’. Not temporary peace from a false high, but peace that comes from on high.
A peace that passes all understanding. A peace that replaces the anxiety that saps away at our joy. A peace that humanly we can’t get our heads around. A peace that’s mind blowing, as well as mind protecting.
This peace does not mean an absence of difficulty in life, but a peace in every situation and circumstance.
It’s peace in a prison cell for Paul. It’s peace for Philippian believers living under the watch of Roman soldiers. It’s peace in all circumstances, in 2023 and beyond.
Over the last year I have had the privilege to walk alongside several people who have been going through some difficult challenges. There have been tears and uncertainty yes, but I have also seen with my own eyes evidence of God's faithfulness to provide this peace.
We can rejoice because we have peace with God through his Son our Saviour, but wonderfully that is not just a theological truth. We are promised continual peace and protection from God.
Now that doesn’t mean that we won’t be anxious ever again, but wonderfully we will experience God’s peace time and time again as well.
Paul has modelled this praying in every situation already. (See Philippians 1:4, 1:9) Not only does he model it, but he goes on to say in Philippians 3: 11-12, that he has learnt this way of life. Chapter 3 reminds us of the zealous Jew he was before his conversion. But he had to learn a new way to live. Before he could run, he had to learn to walk.
It is one thing to say that we can know a heavenly, out-of-the-world peace - that this is a promise from God when we pray - but we can’t leave it there.
We need to be putting these wonderful promises into practice. I can have a gym membership, but that won’t make me fitter. I must go to the gym.
For us to remain joyful in all circumstances, to have peaceful protected hearts and minds, we must act on it. We don’t just passively receive it.
Wouldn’t it be great if 2023 is a year when we grow in our joyfulness as we experience the peacefulness God promises through a growing prayer life?
As we battle for joyfulness this year, let us learn how to grow in our prayer life together. Let us start with taking baby steps. Not giving up at the first hurdle because we think this is just too hard.
Let us look to those brothers and sisters around us, and praise God when we see them living out prayerful and peaceful lives that we can also attain. Let us take the time this year to learn together. Let us teach others as we live out this joyful example of life together.
LCM shares the gospel alongside the local church of London, equipping everyday Christians to lovingly bring a message of hope in Christ to those least likely to hear it.
Registered Charity No. 247186
