I love the book of Philippians! Paul had so much going on while he was writing that book and yet it is full of joy. Paul had a single mind - focused on Christ alone. When Paul wrote this book, he was in prison, chained to a Roman soldier. Paul was full of joy because he was single-minded.
When we are not of a single mind, there are so many things that can rob us of our joy - people, circumstances, things.
People have a way of getting on our nerves when we're not focused on Christ. We can be having a great day and someone says or does something, and poof - our joy is gone. Paul could have let people rob him of his joy - it was "people" that put him in jail!
Many times we forget that God runs the course of our lives, so when our circumstances aren't what we would choose, we become depressed. Paul could have been sorely depressed by the fact he was in jail, but no, he used it as an opportunity to bring the Gospel. He was chained to a new soldier every 6 hours!
Finally, things have a way of getting in the way. We get so attached to the toys in our lives and don't know what to do when we lose them. I read once about a Quaker man living next to a mansion. A wealthy man was moving in with his many toys, things, things, things. The Quaker man went up to the wealthy man and said, "If you ever need anything, come see me, and I'll show you how to live without it."
When we have a single mind, Christ will be our all sufficiency. We will be focused on glorifying Him, not on all other things that go on in our lives. I wish that my focus was constantly Christ, but unfortunately I often allow people, circumstances, and things rob me of my joy. May the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day ...
I'm not sure this will make sense to anyone else since the thoughts in my head don't always come out right when I move them :)
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