I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 3:14 NKJV

A trip to Pirate’s World was every teenager’s dream. And popcorn at Pirate’s World was the best. 

During my freshman year of high school, we took a class trip to the theme park. I was elated, and yes, we studied. I’m not sure what we studied—rollercoaster mechanics or something–but school-related stuff popped up. At least, that was the guise. As our bus reached the gates, our classmates piled up and over the turnstiles, nearly crushing me in the process.

I had fun exploring the aisles of games. There was everything from bean bag tosses to ring-around-the-bottle to various shooting, darting, throwing, and slinging games. I explored the rides–my favorite being the giant slide. The dust wafted as we disembarked, providing great entertainment–as did the chit-chat at the top. We asked the attendant if we could share a burlap mat, slide backward, slide without the mat, or do anything else we could dream up to get him to chuckle. He always said, “No.” And then there was the food. I gorged myself on a candy-coated apple followed by cotton candy. I had more sugar on my fingers than in my mouth.

But my excitement waned when a classmate asked when I was going to ride the Steeplechase rollercoaster. Not wanting to appear as terrified as I was, I presented logical excuses.

“We have all-day passes to ride as many times as we want,” Charlene* said.

“Thanks, but . . .”

“You’re scared, aren’t you?”

Charlene didn’t wait for an answer. She pushed a bag of popcorn into my sugar-coated hand and scooted us toward the roller coaster. Seconds later, I found myself crushing the bag as we boarded Steeplechase. We followed this by riding the log flume, which dropped a watery twenty feet at its peak. I could hear the clashing metal wheels squeal to a stop because I’d finally stopped screaming.

“Let’s go again!” Charlene said.

I dug my heels into the dust and refused to be dragged back onto either ride.

“Okay then, let’s go to the little one. They call it the Mouse.”

I relented as Charlene pointed out how much easier it would be. After all, my bag of popcorn and I had conquered two rides already.

“Focus on dropping popcorn. That’s your mission,” she said. “It’ll help you overcome fear.”

This two-tiered ride allowed us to hit classmates on the lower deck with kernels while we sat on the upper deck. Charlene and I separated so we could hit each other, and when she left to ride other rides, I stayed and became an expert at popcorn bombing.

I thought about these fun times while reading Philippians. Paul encouraged his disciples to let two spiritual fruits fill them: joy and rejoicing.

Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

~Philippians 2:17-18 KJV

Seventeen times in this slender four-chapter book, Paul uses the word “joy,” “rejoice,” or another variant. We can define joy as “to curb or bridle” while rejoice means “to celebrate.” Because Paul chose the discipline of having bridled joy, he had opportunities to celebrate even when circumstances did not align with natural happiness. He knew he must model joy and habitually rejoice to guard his followers from discouragement.

Paul had plenty of reasons to fear. He was even imprisoned while writing Philippians. Nonetheless, his mission-minded focus, coupled with a positive attitude, enabled him to let joy and rejoicing have their perfect work in him and those he influenced. This empowered Paul and Silas to sing songs when imprisoned and fettered with heavy chains. Their positive attitude showed they were believers. Who else could sing in a dungeon? This resulted in the jailer and his household being saved, but it didn’t stop there. While on house arrest in Rome, Paul witnessed to each guard who arrived every six hours (see Philippians 1:13-14). I wonder if some guards requested turns to be chained to Paul. 

We cannot choose our circumstances, but we can choose our focus. Let’s lead our families, friends, and co-workers in an uplifting, God-honoring way, empowering them to share the gospel as Paul did. Whether times are easy or dire, we can model joy and rejoicing. And God promises our witness will hit its target like a well-aimed popcorn kernel.

Think of ways you can choose joy and rejoicing in all circumstances.

Father God, empower me to model the spiritual fruits of joy and rejoicing so that regardless of my circumstances, my loved ones and I can share the gospel effectively. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Genre: Creative Non-fiction

Copyright 2021: Popcorn at Pirate’s World: Diane Virginia: All Rights Reserved

Published: Jan 2021: Inspire a Fire

Published: October 2022: Christian Broadcasting Network