JOY in Partnership

I LOVE the book of Philippians!!!   Yes, you know why!  It's the book of JOY!!!!  I am trying to memorize the book so that I can REALLY understand where Paul was coming from!  Can you believe that 16 times in this short letter (104 verses) Paul mentions JOY.  AND HE WAS IN PRISON when he wrote it!  WOW!  Could we be that JOYful if we were in his situation?

The reason he could "rejoice always" was because of his relationship with Christ. As I was meditating on the passage in Philippians 1:4, a light bulb came on!  Paul said: In all of my prayers for all of you, I always pray with JOY because of your partnership in the gospel.....Do you see that?  He prays for his friends with JOY because of their PARTNERSHIP in the Gospel!!!!!!!  They all loved Jesus and that common bond brought their hearts together in a spirit of JOY!

Yesterday I met with two precious gals who are going with me this weekend to Pooler Baptist Church to lead a ladies' conference.  The whole time we were together, we laughed and giggled and grinned and told hilarious stories....all while planning for the weekend!  It occurred to me that the reason we had so much JOY is because of our "PARTNERSHIP IN THE GOSPEL"!!!!!! 

"Father, thank you for my friends, Amanda Hayes and Tammy Arant, who love You and who are so willing to serve You with gladness!  Thank you for bringing us together as partners for this weekend's event and we pray WITH JOY because you have given us this opportunity to share Your love and JOY with others. Please keep us mindful that no matter what our circumstances, no matter how well we have planned, when things don't go our way....we can still "count it all JOY" and "rejoice in the Lord, ALWAYS!"

I believe that I am beginning to understand how Paul felt when he wrote:  "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with JOY because of your partnership in the gospel!"  AND "I thank my God every time I remember YOU."  God has blessed me with MANY, MANY friends who are so willing to "partner" with me and others in sharing the JOYful news!!!!!  For each of you, I give a shout of praise and JOY!