What do we Rejoice?
The Bible has commands which just don’t make common sense. They’re out of this world. Commands which require us to take hold of something eternal in order to even comprehend, much more to obey them.
Like this one: Rejoice Always (I Thessalonians 5:16 NASB.)
Just found out a very good friend of mine has a mass on their chest. They go in for a biopsy on Thursday.
A marriage is in trouble. A job was lost. Relationships are broken. A long-time friend died of a brain tumor. Loved ones are sick. People are in deep emotional pain.
Yet, we’re to rejoice always. Rejoice what? Certainly not our circumstances.
Then what do we rejoice? What can we grab hold of from God’s greater, eternal story to rejoice in? The story God’s writing on human hearts involves far more than just our happy circumstances. We’re complete in Christ[1] and God’s wants us to know it. He’s orchestrating our lives to free us from the false affections of a happy life.
Our joy must come from the Lord. We’re to rejoice in Him. And as we joy in Him, the whole world is unlocked for us to enjoy. After all, God created sunsets, puppies, babies, flowers, sex and chocolate. We’re designed to delight in the Lord first, above all else, and then to joy in His creation. If we get the order wrong, let’s be honest, we’re idolaters.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4 NASB)
What is Rejoicing?
Rejoicing means to be full of joy, to be cheerful, to be exceeding glad and calmly happy.
Let these meanings sink in. Savor them. Allow them to wash over your heart. Imagine being:
- Full of Joy
- Cheerful
- Exceedingly Glad
- Calmly Happy
Always.
We’ve longed for this quality of glorious satisfaction, but we thought things had to go well in our lives to get there. At least I did.
God is Joy. In His presence, Joy is full.[2] There’s a way to cultivate a lifestyle of rejoicing which isn’t dependent on the shifting sands of day to day living. There’s a way to be full of joy, cheerful, exceedingly glad and calmly happy every moment of every day. It must be possible. God commanded it.
How do we Cultivate a Lifestyle of Rejoicing in the Lord?
What James writes about joy is bizarre, especially if we’re looking for good circumstances to maintain our feelings of well-being:
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter varies trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you might be perfect, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4 NASB.)
Trials test our faith. As we learn to celebrate in times of great opposition, endurance grows. Rejoicing brings the intimacy of our Lord into every crevasse of our most difficult situations, flooding our hearts with joy. The more we experience the amazing, paradoxical transformation of grief to gladness by the mere presence of Almighty God, the more we realize we lack nothing. This world doesn’t bring contentment. We’re joyous because He is near.
This isn’t easy. But, Graham Cooke says no circumstance or person has the power to steal our joy unless we allow it. Even in nightmare scenarios, rejoicing pulls us above the circumstances and our negative mindsets.[3]
Perhaps our goal is not just to get through what we’re experiencing, but to enjoy the presence of the Lord in whatever we’re experiencing. Rejoicing in the Lord always.
Challenge
Is there a situation or a person which is trying to steal your joy? Will you choose to rejoice in the Lord in spite of what’s going on?
Spend some time now asking for the Lord to cheer your heart with His nearness. Rejoice in Him in spite of how you feel.
Peter writes, “but to the degree that you share the suffering of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation (I Peter 4:13 NASB).
To what degree should we keep on rejoicing? To the degree in which we share in the sufferings of Christ.
To Peter, not only did suffering and rejoicing go hand in hand, there was a direct correlation of one to the other.
Prayer
Lord, this trial, these trials have been going on so long. You know. Sometimes I lose hope they’ll ever get better. Yet, life keeps coming. It doesn’t stop for us to catch our breaths. These things don’t make me happy, but I’m seeing something glorious happen in spite of them. Your nearness is bringing gladness to every situation. I can rejoice in You and be cheerful even in the miry pit of hopeless dreams. Even when the unthinkable happens, You fill my heart with joy.
I’m a container of your Joyous Presence. You indwell me.[4] May I yield to your Spirit in every situation that your Joy may flow. Joy inside . Joy overflowing. Rejoicing always, in You.
[1] Colossians 2:10
[2] Psalm 16:11
[3] Times of Refreshing, Graham Cooke
[4] Galatians 2:20
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