Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.

Phil 4:4

The theme of joy is frequent in the letter to the Philippians. Saint Paul calls his brothers and sisters from the young and successful community in Philippi his “joy and crown” (4:1).
Jesus wants complete, full joy for us. But sometimes our joy is not complete because we wander away from the source of our joy. We try to find it apart from the Lord.

When we lose our joy or fail to share a joyful attitude, our job is simply to repent or turn back to God who is the source of our joy. The Lord is near. All it takes is to call on his name and ask for his grace and mercy. When God’s joy flows through us, it will be much easier to be kind to the people in our lives.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the blueprint of joy you have given us. Let me get out of the way so you can fill me with complete joy.