More Than A Feeling
Pat Steeves · Tidal Church Moncton · October 18, 2026 · Joy Anyway series
Pat Steeves teaches from Philippians 2 and 4 that joy is a deep confidence in God's goodness, not a feeling. God is at work changing us from the inside out, so we do our part, guard our thoughts, and shine in hard times.
More from Pat Steeves · The Joy Anyway series
Topics: Joy, Faith, Discipleship
Transcript
[0:00] Good morning and welcome. If you've been journeying with us over the last several weeks, we've been in this series called Joy Anyway. And if you would've been here for Dominique as she kicked off the series entitled "Unhinged," and it was all about the difference between joy and being happy. Oftentimes, we think that the two are the same, and we oftentimes chase happiness only to come up empty, the things that we thought would make us happy. And then week two, Jim talked about the storms and how we can have joy in the storms. And so helpful, so practical. Week three was Sam last Sunday, where he was on the title of Follow the Leader, and how Jesus set the example in how He lived out His life to offer forgiveness and love. Follow the leader.
[0:54] So here we are in week four, and it's entitled Joy Is More Than a Feeling. Joy is more than a feeling. And I don't know about you, but sometimes some of the big things in life, we think that there should be a feeling attached to them, such as birthday celebrations, right? We want to feel a certain way. For some of you, including my daughter, Christmas is a big deal, and there's a feeling attached to that. For some, it's anniversaries. And so as I was thinking about this title, More Than a Feeling, I thought about our 20th anniversary. My wife is here.
[1:39] She has no idea what I'm about to share right now, but we planned our 20th anniversary trip. How many have ever celebrated that milestone? Pretty big deal, right? And so all the planning goes into place, and so our friends at that same time were planning to go to Europe, and so we thought, well, let's join them. Let's do this trip together. And so, for someone who's never really left New Brunswick very much, Barcelona is a big deal to go all the way over to Europe, and so we experienced Barcelona. Now, I don't know if you have watched the Hallmark movies or you watch movies, but it's just like that. The narrow cobblestone walkways, the smell of fresh-brewed coffee and pastries. My wife and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary. It's incredible.
[2:35] It's all the things you would think it would be. And then to follow that up with a seven-day Mediterranean cruise, where we stopped and seen places like the Colosseum in Rome and Italy and the Tower of Pisa. I don't know if you've watched the Titanic, but it was similar to that experience for us. And then the cruise was over, and we had three more days planned in Barcelona. And so we got off the cruise ship, and we're carrying our luggage to our Airbnb. Now, I don't know if it's similar for you, but I don't know if it's the kid in me, but I love a new place, a new hotel, a new Airbnb. What is it going to be like? How big is the bed going to be, right?
[3:29] Does anybody think that way, feel that way? And so I can remember we arrive at our address, and we put in the code to get into our Airbnb. I'm excited. We go up the stairs. We unlock the door. We open it up, and there's someone in our room. I'm alarmed. My wife is not. She's like, "Remember I told you that we were going to save some money and we were going to stay in an Airbnb? We're in a room." And I'm thinking, "This is our 20th anniversary, and we're spending it with a stranger?" Now, I don't know if you have ever had an adult meltdown before.
[4:19] I did not have one of my best moments. I won't get into details for the sake of my pride, but it was not a good moment. I was on my phone looking for flights out of Barcelona. I was willing to do five layovers in Germany and different places just to get home because I was like, "This is not the feeling that I thought I would have on my 20th anniversary." Anyway, back to our topic. Joy is more than a feeling. As Christians, we hear the word joy, and I feel like sometimes we have to pretend as Christians that we have joy in us if we want to be a, quote-unquote, "good Christian spiritual person." It's like we have to have joy.
[5:13] So we will act out joy. Now, don't look at me all like... Some of you guys have been in church like me for a long time. You know exactly the people, and we've probably been guilty of this ourselves, of acting like a Christian because we're supposed to have joy. Are you guys with me? But what we're going to learn here today is joy is not a feeling. And so if we're going to understand what joy is, I want us to look at the definition of joy. Joy is a deep-rooted confidence in God's goodness and His faithfulness regardless of any circumstance. That, my friend, is not a feeling.
[6:03] Joy is a deep-rooted confidence in the goodness and faithfulness of God. I like how this explains it. It says, "It means that we can experience disappointment without losing hope, doubt without losing faith, and uncertainty without losing our trust in God." That's so much bigger than a feeling. And so our text today is in Philippians, which we've been in all month long, and it's written by a guy named Paul. If you've been in Sunday school, you've been in youth group, you've heard about the Apostle Paul. He wrote Philippians.
[6:53] He's writing it to the church of Philippi, a group of Christians that are trying to live out their faith. And Paul, all throughout Philippians, references this word called joy several times, and here's what you got to know. He's writing to this church, but Paul is in jail. Now, I won't ask anybody if you've ever been in jail, okay? But from probably what I've known, it's not a place that you're looking at it from like, "Okay, I've got it easy," right? It's not the place you want to find yourself in, but here Paul finds himself in prison because of his faith in Jesus.
[7:38] But yet he keeps writing about joy, which I feel gives him the credentials. If anybody can talk about joy while you're in jail, I would say Paul knows what he's talking about. How many of you have ever gotten advice, like dating advice, from somebody who can't string a relationship longer than two months, right? They're like, "Girl, this is what you got to do. You got to tell..." And it's like, how long have you been in a relationship, right? Or even better, you get financial advice from a friend who's always borrowing money from you, right? But Paul's credentials give him what we need to be able to take for real what he has to say when it comes to joy.
[8:23] You see, joy isn't dependent on what's happening to us. It's rooted in who is living in us. And so I want us to look at Philippians 2, and let's read what Paul has to say to us. He says, "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence." He says, "Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." I read that, and when I read that, I think of Paul as saying, kind of like parents. Like as parents, we expect our kids to act a certain way when we're there. But then when we're not there, we're like, "Listen, we're not going to be there, but you still go to bed.
[9:18] You still eat what we have for you." We give them the rules. We still expect the same even though we're not there. Right? This is what Paul is saying to the Philippians. He's like, "You guys were on top of your game while I was there. But now in my absence, I want you to continue to work things out." He goes on to say, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose." God is working in you. If you've ever been to church more than four or five times, you've probably heard that line, "God's at work. God is working in you."
[10:08] And I often heard that, and I've never really understood. It's like, okay, yeah, okay, God's at work, right? And then we go on and go on. But as I looked at this scripture, I began to look at it differently and understand that God is at work in me, changing me from the inside out. You see, sometimes we spend too much time looking for God to change our circumstance or situation that we overlook what He might be wanting to change in us.
[10:58] You see, we often look at our situation and we're saying, "God, change that, make this go away, make this better, and then my life will be so much better. Then I'll experience joy. Then I'll experience all the things." And I don't know about you, but that's how I've often looked at things. That's what my prayers to God have often sounded like. And as I've read this scripture, I began to understand that God's, yeah, He's concerned about the things we're concerned about, but His focus is on changing us from the inside out.
[11:43] Because often when we change on the inside, it shifts what we're concerned about. And I want us to look into this, and I want this to become real. You see, God, change my situation. God, give me the promotion. God, get me into this or out of this relationship, all those things. But what if God is developing patience in us through the situation? What if He's teaching us to trust Him more? You see, we thought it was all about getting a job, and God's saying, "I just want you to trust Me in this." He's more concerned about developing what's in you. He's at work in you.
[12:33] What if He's changing our perspective? What if He's growing our compassion? What if He's preparing us for something that we don't even know about? Sometimes we measure God's activity by whether our circumstances improve. Isn't that so true? We gauge God's activity to say, "Okay, no, God's at work." Instead, what if we began to measure how much we've grown in our trust in God? We know Him more. I have more compassion, more empathy for others. Do you see the difference that I'm now looking at God as shaping and changing these things in me? I'm shifting my focus from my challenge, from my circumstance, and saying, "God, what are You saying to me through this?"
[13:33] God is at work in you. In our small groups this week, we're going to talk, we're going to ask this question, and this question is going to be, look back on a difficult season. Can you recognize something God was doing or developing or changing in you, even though you couldn't see it at the time? In our small groups, we're going to challenge each other with that question. And I just want to celebrate the fact that we have launched 48 small groups across all three of our campuses. That's worth celebrating, isn't it? People getting together around accountability, learning from each other, growing with each other.
[14:26] Paul says, "Work out your salvation." You see, yes, God is working in us, and sometimes in Christian circles, we default to God's working, God's doing His thing, and we just have to trust, and we just have to wait. How many of you have ever heard that? How many know anything important in life, we have a part to play. If you want to lose some weight, guess what? You got to do something about it. If you want to learn something new, you got to put some work in it. And Paul is saying, "Work out your salvation." And this is the part as Christians that we got to realize that we have a part to play.
[15:14] Yes, God is working in us, but we need a workout routine just like anything else that we do in life. And for me, part of this workout routine in understanding what God is doing in me is real simple. And it's become, I have it written on the mirror in our little gym. And every morning, it's right there, and it's these four things. My workout routine with God is I start with gratitude. That's kind of a warm-up where I'm just, "God, I thank You for my family, I thank You for our health," whatever it may be. I start out with gratitude.
[16:02] And then next, "God, I give You this day. God, my plans, the things that I think I have, God, I just give those over to You." And then I pray for my friends, my family, and my enemies. The Bible talks about praying for your enemies. And there's something when you stop, and some of those hurts and those wounds and those things, and in that moment, you just pray for that person or that situation. There's something that begins to happen in you. And then I end by saying, "God, lead, guide, and direct my day." And that's my simple workout, but I want to encourage you, have your own workout that you do with God.
[17:02] Don't just trust and say, "God is at work." What are you doing to put some work in? Paul says, "For God works in us both to will and to act for His good purpose." What does that even mean? As God is working in us, it changes our desires. For example, God is working with us to shape what He wants. When we want to hold a grudge, God helps us to say, "Pat, you need to forgive." When we want to complain, God says, "You need to develop some more gratitude." When we want to put ourselves first, God grows compassion. This is some of the work that happens within us. When we want to give up, listen to this, God develops a desire to keep going. Somebody needs to hear that today.
[18:08] You want to give up, that work within you is God saying, "You got this. Keep going." He's transforming us from the inside out. Joy doesn't come from knowing exactly what God is doing. It comes from trusting the One who is doing the work. Maybe somebody needs to hear this this morning. You haven't seen the answer yet. You may not even feel like you're making progress right now, but that doesn't mean God has stopped working. He's working in you. Look at the person beside you and say, "He's working in you." He's working in you. Remember, joy is more than a feeling.
[19:04] What is happening on the inside of you eventually comes out. I don't know if you heard this as a kid, your parents said, "What you put in must come out." How many have heard that? What we put in matters. As we continue in Philippians, Paul is going to show us something that seems so insignificant, but I think it has so much power over our lives. Philippians 2:14 says, "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." I don't know about you, but it seems like a lot of people today want to spend a lot of time arguing and complaining, right? But Paul is warning us about this. Do everything without it.
[20:03] Is it just me, or is it the older we get, the more we like to complain? Now, nobody's going to admit this, okay. I do see a couple heads shaking. Good for you. Good for you. But we like to complain about what? The weather, the traffic, all of the things we want to complain about. Here's what I've learned, and I've actually become quite passionate about. Aging is inevitable. Getting old is optional. Amen. I don't believe we have to get old. I truly believe getting old is a choice. Now, we live in a society where we want to spend a lot of money and time to try to make ourselves look younger.
[20:53] Not looking, but any women in the room? We do, right? We do. And so, I want to give you just a little prescription if you want to get old quick. Here's some things you should consider doing if you want to get old quick. This is what being old sounds like. Grumbling, complaining, being negative. This will make you really old. Resentful, bitter, cynical, entitled, unforgiving. I'm kind of trying to be a little bit humorous with this, but these are the things that want to grab a hold of us.
[21:42] And these negative things harm us more than we realize. I'm going to continue. Resisting change, stuck in the past, being jealous, losing curiosity, unwilling to grow, set in their ways. Or you can choose to continue to grow. These are the things that I believe will keep us young, even at an old age. This is the list, to me, that I want to work on, is being grateful, being selfless, quick to forgive, being curious, being hopeful. These are the things that aging is inevitable.
[22:33] Getting old is optional. I want to choose the things of God, and I believe we can live out our years full of life and hope and purpose and faith. And so Paul is simply saying, "Don't get caught up in arguing. Don't get caught up in all these things." Because here's why it matters. Why does that even matter? Because what we put in eventually comes out. You see, the things that we think about shape our attitudes, doesn't it? The things we put in shape our attitudes. Attitudes shape our actions, and our actions determine the direction of our life. But it all starts with the things that we think about.
[23:28] It all starts with the things that we put in. And Paul is saying, "Don't do that. Caution yourself." So what are the things that we're supposed to do? Great question. I want us to pull up Philippians 4:8. And I've read the book called "The 4:8 Principle," and the whole book is centered around this one verse, by Tommy Newberry. And it's a very practical book, but it shares with us the things that we need to check our mind with the thoughts that we're thinking and line them up with this. It says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true, on what is honorable, what is right, what is pure, what is lovely, what is admirable.
[24:18] Think on these things." Everything that is worthy of praise. In Scripture, and Paul is trying to challenge us and encourage us, this is where you want to spend your time and your thoughts. Not in arguing, in fighting, and sometimes we don't realize how much negativity has become part of our everyday conversation. Paul is not pretending that difficult things are not happening, but it's choosing to not allow our difficulties to become the only thing we think about. And it's so easy for that to consume our thoughts. We can be disappointed but still grateful.
[25:11] We can experience uncertainty and still trust God. Joy isn't pretending the negative isn't real, but it's refusing to let the negative become the only thing we see. Our thoughts matter, because as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. I want us to land the plane here in our third point. That makes all this come together and makes this, as Christians and as believers, really important. You see, God's work in us should shine through us. Philippians 2:15, "So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like the stars in the sky." How many have ever looked up on a clear night and seen how bright the stars are?
[26:21] On that black backdrop, you can see the stars shining. And I believe that when we begin to understand that God is working in us, joy is not based on a feeling, it's not based on what's happening, but it's understanding that God is at work in us, changing the way we think, changing who we are, shifting our perspective. I believe that we can go through life and experience challenges and circumstances, and we can get through them with God's help, and our friends, our neighbors, and our coworkers are like, "How come they can go through things differently and it doesn't seem to affect them like it does everybody else?" You see, sometimes we think our walk with God, we need to say the right things, and we feel like the words that we say have the most impact on the people around us, and we create this church lingo kind of stuff that I don't think people really actually care about or understand. But here's what people do understand: our actions, in how we live out our life, and especially our actions when we walk through some really difficult, hurtful, painful things, and it doesn't take us out. I believe our actions speak so much more loudly than our words.
[27:52] And I believe that this is where this joy comes in. It's a deep-rooted confidence in God's goodness and His faithfulness, no matter the circumstance. I'm going to ask if you would, right where you're at, just bow your heads, and we're just going to take a moment here in this presence. We're going to take a moment, and I want you to think about the thing that's keeping you up at night. I want you to think about the thing that's weighing you down. You know, God knows. What if we could just put that aside right here, park it right here?
[28:41] And this is what I've personally been developing, is, "God, what are You saying to me in this moment? What are You trying to show me? What can I learn from this?" And it's shifted my focus from the problem, and it's shifted it into what God wants to do in me. And I'll be honest, the circumstance doesn't change a whole lot, but there's something in me that's changed so much bigger than the circumstance, and it's given me a trust and a faith in God that I never had.
[29:32] And it's allowed me to walk through this journey and it not take me out. It's actually made me stronger. It's made me better. It's grown me so much, and I believe that that's what God wants to do in each and every one of us. I want to remind you that joy is so much more than a feeling. Would you pray with me? God, in this moment, I believe Your Holy Spirit is at work. Each one of us is at a different place in this journey of life, in this spiritual journey of faith with God.
[30:19] And You don't expect anyone to be in a place where they're not. We don't have to compare, but I just pray in this moment, we would acknowledge where we're at right now. And God, I pray that this message, the word of God, would become real to where they're at and give them hope, courage, to face what they're going through. God, we pray as believers of Christ, that we would grow in our trust in You, and when that happens, God, we're unstoppable. The enemy loses his control. And that's my prayer today, this morning, God, that You would break some of the strongholds over people's lives right now that the enemy has had them bound because their situation hasn't changed.
[31:15] And we would realize, God, You're actually at work in us, changing the very thing that needs to be changed. We love You, God. We trust You. We pray all these things in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.