Rejoice in the Lord always
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice” (Php 4:4)
The encourager was once rejoicing in this city’s prison after being mistreated! He now writes about rejoicing while in prison in Rome in the dreadful reign of Emperor Nero; he is among strangers, and death is staring him in the face. Paul has all moral authority to tell his hearer to ‘Rejoice in the Lord always!’ Yet in this our world today, we wonder, is it possible to rejoice always? Many times in our lives we can’t seem to find reason to rejoice. All the time, in every circumstance, rejoice! Today, tomorrow, next week, rejoice. In pain, in happiness, in failure, in success, in a heart break, disappointment, job promotion, accidents, healing – rejoice always; always.
You may say, “that is cliché, church language but it’s not actually possible!” Yet the word of God is a lamp to our feet, a light onto our paths, it shows us where we really are in life, who we really are and more than that, the path we ought to take. We neglect it at our own peril. The word calls us to rejoice, not in any other thing, but in the lord. I have come to find that the more we stop looking elsewhere and fix our eyes on the Lord, on the author and perfecter of our faith, the more we will discover great reason to rejoice, in fact, we will rejoice always irrespective of the external circumstance. We ought to pray as the psalmist: “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. (Psalm 119:3,37)
And even in those seasons when we honestly feel we have reached the end of the rope, let us with the psalmist learn to speak thus to our hearts: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)
I have been through a season in my life when I was so discouraged. It felt as if my heart was being agonizingly torn into a million pieces daily, my insides being churned out; a time when I dreaded the night for with it came the long hours of fighting with my thoughts for hours… till I eventually gave way to sleep. I seemed to have stepped on an endless spiral path of joylessness, even in the midst of this happy family of Christian friends; until I turned from concentrating on what I seemed to have lost and started looking at who God was, what he had done and what he was and will continue to do. Again, I was struck at how He is a great and mighty God, yet a God of love. I was reassured looking at how much Christ Jesus had done for me; even today He is praying for me. Then I came to the conclusion: whatever happens, I have great reason to rejoice in the Lord, always.
Friend, rejoice in the Lord, always!