Joy When the Confetti Stops

Graduation Season, a time of year to celebrate a student’s accomplishments and transition into adulthood. A time where everyone is congratulating you and giving you starbucks gift cards, because they don’t know what you really want. Its a time to look back on the past fondly and toward the future with hope.

I remmember my Graduation, it was a night of excitement until they called my name. Then began the waiting. As a “D” I walked down that stage within the first 1/4th of the students, By the time we got to the “W’s” I was very ready to walk out of that football field.

Funny how a graduation ceremony becomes a microcasm of life. Highs and lows. From one extreme to another. Life can be a roller coaster, But God doesn’t want our spiritual lives to be like that. He wants to give us Joy when the Confetti Stops.

Philippians 4:4–7 NKJV

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Start By Choosing to Rejoice

Rejoice when times are Good

Rejoicing flows out of a joyful heart.

2 Samuel 6:14–15 NKJV

Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

Its easy to rejoice at times in our live when things are going well. At graduations, Weddings, when that new baby is born, when you get the new job. It is good to rejoice in these moments, and I would never want to deminish its importance, but that’s not the totality of the verse.

Rejoice when times are bad

Philippians 4:4 NKJV

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

This is the hard part of the command. Rejoicing when the cofetti stops. When that future you were hoping in didn’t quite happen how you imagined. Its in these moments where you have to figure out where you rejoicing was coming from.

Truth is that the seasons of life change, right now things are great for our graduates. But it doesn’t take long for the winds to change.

Ecclesiastes 3:1–4 NKJV

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;

Rejoicing through the pain is difficult. But fortunatly for us Rejoicing is only the first command in these verses. Joy comes when we obey God completly, and Rejoicing becomes easier at the end.

Choose Gentleness Over Selfishness

Philippians 4:5 NKJV

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be Gentile in your Victories

The word Gentleness as recorded in the NKJV is epi-eikes in Greek and does not have a 1-1 translation. It is translated Moderation in the KJV, Reasonableness is the ESV, and Graciousness in the CSB. But any way you slice it a Christian should be controled, and selfless. Puting other people ahead first, because Jesus is coming back. Because our mission of sharing the Gospel should be priority over our own convieance, or even our own rights.

Richard Melick in The New American Commentary says it this way. ‘“The gentle person does not insist on his rights. “It is that considerate courtesy and respect for the integrity of others which prompts a man not to be for ever standing on his rights; and it is preeminently the character of Jesus.”’

Richard R. Melick, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 149.

It makes me think of how Jesus put it when questioned about the Greatest Commandment

Matthew 22:36–40 NKJV

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Have you ever played a game with a kid? Over the weekend I attended Kynslea Thompson’s Birthday party. I spent much of the time there playing the board game “Sorry” with Timmy Mullis and my boys. It was a close game. Timmy and I each had our last peice 1 space away from victory. Timmy pulled the #1 card and clinched the “W” I didn’t let him win perse’ But I did give him genuine advice along the way. The best part was when it was all said and done Timmy put out his hand and gave me a “good game” shake. Then he proceeded to run out and play something else. Compare that to some of the teens on Wendesday, If they beat me at ping pong you would think they won a superbowl ring.

It is good to rejoice in our victories, but we don’t need to “rub it in” to the looser.

Be Gentile in your Defeats

Graduations bring out the best and worst in people. As a youth pastor I get to attend almost every graduation. Normally I’m sitting in the stands by myself waiting for one or two graduates to walk across the stage. If its been a while since you sat in the crowd at a graduation, let me tell you in the midst of the celebration it doesn’t take much to set some people off. I’ve see a group of people go from cheering to cussing in to time flat. Normally beacuse people are selfish. Someone sits in a chair they were saving, or someones baloons are blocking the camera’s view. Or simply because its hot, and they’re tired of waiting.

Even when things aren’t going well we can’t let ourselves act a fool and hurt the cause of Christ. Our testimony is of vital importance, and as you know it doesn’t take much to ruin it.

Choose Prayer over Anxiety

Philippians 4:6 ESV

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Anxiety is a hot topic word in todays cuture. Everyone has thier own opinions on dealing with stress and worry. And To Be honest, by nature I am a worrier. Joy can attest that I’ve spent sleepless nights thinking through conversations before they happen, trying to map out every possible twist and turn. Then for the next day to come and that converstation I had “prepared” for never even happened. Because my worry was unfounded.

Satan wants to trap Christians in Anxiety. Trap us in our fears and worries, so that we freeze up and don’t live for Jesus. Obviously, that is not the victorius Christian life. That is not living in joy and peace, so Paul gives us the answer.

Bring your Requests to God

In Prayer

Worry and Prayer are opposites. Worring is fuled by us trying to fix our problems. What do I do if… How will I respond if… But what if they…

Prayer says, God I trust you to in my situation. I believe that you are big enough and that you care enough to take care of me.

Matthew 6:25–27 NKJV

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Matthew 6:31–33 NKJV

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

In Supplication

Take you needs to God and leave it there.

Matthew 6:5–8 NKJV

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

In Thanksgiving

In our prayers thanksgiving is important. We worship God for who he is. Because he is worthy, Because he loves us and takes care of us.

But when those storms of life are raging and the worries have a grip it can become difficult to be thankful. So one of the easiest practices is like the old song says. Count your Blessings Name them One By One.

When we choose to remember our blessings instead of focusing on our fears, Thanksgiving becomes easier.

Anxiety and worship cannot coexist. Whey we turn to God in prayer and thanksgiving the fear and worry slip away.

When you turn your anxiety into prayer you build your relationship with God. Instead of fighting with yourself over your needs you turn them to God.

The Promised Peace

God’s Peace is Beyond our Understanding

When we make these choices and obey God’s commands, he promises to give peace. Its not a peace that we can generate or manifest into being, rather it is a gift from God. In fact when we try to make our selves at peace we tend to just add to our fustrations, worries, and fears. Yet the peace that comes from God is amazing. His peace really does surpass our understanding, because there is no earthly reason for it.

Its like Jesus asleep on the boat during the storm, completely at peace without a worry, while the storm raged and the disciples panicked.

We honestly cannot have joy in our lives without the peace of God overshadowing our fears. That’s the difference between Joy and happiness. Happiness is dependant upon our circumstances, where Joy is found in the peace of God.

God’s Peace Guards our Hearts and Minds

How does God’s peace guard? well what does a guard do?

Guard- to protect- to ensure- to care for.

Guard’s don’t take breaks, Guards Don’t abandon thier posts. Guards give security. Guards give peace

When the Anxiety attacks how do you defend against it? Answer- Daily Double

You Don’t- Every time I try to will power Myself out of anxiety, all I tend to do is add fuel to the fire. Because now I’m worring that I’m not even good enough to stop worrying.

God guards you, when it attacks we turn to him in prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. He then guards our hearts.

Imagine it this way, In wrestling there are tag matches. Once you tag in your teammate you stop fighting. Stop trying to win on your own, tap out and let God win the battles giving you peace in the process.

God’s Peace Comes through Jesus Alone

Apart from Jesus there is no peace. There might be quiet, there might be happiness, but peace and joy only come from him. Our sin’s seperate us from God, and birth death in our hearts, souls, and minds. Jesus sacrifice on the cross appied to our lives through salvation gives birth to life.

Conclusion:

Graduates, Let me leave you with this to live in joy, our lives have to be founded in God. We have to let his peace guard our hearts, and turn to him in prayer every day. This world wants to eat you up and spit you out. It wants to make you give in and give up. Jesus has great plans for you life, and wants to fill your heart with Joy that lasts. Your job isn’t to create that joy, but to follow him and trust him to give it to you.