It’s a cool late summer morning. Fall is in the air.
As I sip my dark coffee, laced with sugar free peppermint mocha (not sure it’s good for me, but it is tasty), I listen to the sound of our man-made mountain brook outside the porch. A cool breeze whips across my face, carrying the scent of tea olives in full bloom. Looking up from my writing, I notice the multiple shades of green leaves awaiting the signal to change colors and float to the ground.
I’m in a very contemplative mood. In fact, I feel quite weary. There are plenty of tough circumstances to go around. We’ve had three deaths in our family in the last few years. Folks we love are struggling with addiction. Some don’t know Jesus. The thought of them facing an eternity without Him is sobering. So many are dealing with lost jobs, broken relationships and life-threatening illnesses.
Even though, in John 16:33, Jesus tells us this will be the case, it doesn’t make it easy to deal with such pain. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)
Sometimes, when I remember the nearness of Jesus, He infuses me with the courage to handle these troubles. Other times, I get lost in the details and negative situations. I think it comes down to my perspective. When I can gain an eternal view, even during hard times, my outlook is different.
Right now, my heart is heavy, and I need God’s truth.
Turning to the Bible, I read a verse that if someone said it to me right now, I’d take it as a trite answer and consider them very insensitive.
It’s I Thessalonians 5:16 – “Rejoice Evermore.”
Rejoice Evermore! This unconditional command seems impossible. With all that’s going on, rejoicing is the last thing I want to do. But, since God said it, I’ll take this as an invitation to dig deeper, asking Him to show me how this is possible.
Lord, how is it possible to rejoice evermore?
To Obey God Requires Abiding Dependence Upon the Holy Spirit
Before digging into the verse more fully, I have to pause and admit my inability to obey any of God’s commands in my strength. After years of trying to be like Jesus without Jesus, I’m fully convinced the Christian life requires an abiding dependence upon the indwelling Holy Spirit of Jesus to fully follow Him.
Abiding is not just a delightful idea, it’s the essence of the Christian life. Paul summed it up beautifully in Galatians 2:20-21: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Our life now is a life of dying to self and yielding to the indwelling Holy Spirit. Christ gave Himself up for me and, if I revert to living independently, I’m nullifying His death for me.
Living a life of self-fueled “obedience” leads to burnout and deeper sin. “It’s all up to me” is a lie from the pit of hell. It’s prideful and sinful.
Learning what it means to rejoice evermore doesn’t differ from any other command. Yielding to the Holy Spirit within me is the only way to obey it.
What Does it Mean to Rejoice Evermore?
When Paul tells us to rejoice, he uses the Greek word “chairo,” which means to be cheerful, calmly happy, or well off, to be glad. The word “chairo” originates from the root word “charis,” which means grace or unmerited spiritual blessings granted to those who trust in Jesus Christ.
The Greek words for “rejoice” and “grace” share a close connection. Feeling joyful is a common response to receiving and experiencing God’s grace. One of the fundamental aspects of joy involves having faith and seeking peace in Christ’s righteousness, rather than focusing on my own achievements.
“Evermore” originates from the Greek term “pantoteh,” signifying always, or at all times. I’m to remain glad all the time because of the spiritual blessings God has freely given me. All times!
- When I’m grieving, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
- When life is fun and my wife and I are loving hanging out with our grandkids and kids, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
- When relations are strained or broken, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
- When life seems stale and plain, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
- When I’m afraid and worried, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
I’m always living in a physical world, with actual trials, problems, and heartaches. So, if I am to make this command to “rejoice always” a legitimate part of my life, I can’t forget certain spiritual truths based on the “grace” or unmerited favor given to me.
Rejoicing in God’s Grace
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:3-8a NASB).
Rejoicing in God’s grace, shown to me in His love and sacrifice for my sins, sustains me and gives me courage.
Before the world began, God Almighty chose to love me as His child. The cruel death of His Son Jesus, the Messiah, secured my eternal relationship with Him, my new Father. This was all done for the praise of God’s grace. He lavished His grace upon me, abounding and overflowing, manifested in the shedding of Jesus’ life blood.
This is how I rejoice evermore. Regardless of what I’m going through, the root of joy is God’s grace, expressed in His love. It happened before the world began, so nothing can change His grace for me today.
In God’s Grace, I Rejoice Evermore.
God’s grace gives me a peace which is greater than any circumstance I can face, including the very hard difficulties I face today.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7 NASB).
In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us (Romans 8:18 J.B. Phillips Translation).
Challenge
What is your current weariness? Can you name it? Or perhaps you’re in a season free of troubles. These are rare. Be extremely thankful.
For the rest of us, sink into the deep connection between God’s grace and our full joy. People never earn God’s grace, and it doesn’t change with each passing circumstance or human choice.
Ours is to choose His grace for our life, both now and forever.
With grace, as an unbelievably interlinked component of the same root word, there’s rejoicing.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV).
Come. With all that burdens your heart, come and stay with Jesus. It’s what He wants.
With Him, we have grace and full joy, which results in true rest for our souls.
Prayer
Despite the ongoing hard times and unresolved problems, I find joy in You, Lord, as Your word has given me courage. Please help me take each care and concern and cast them upon You because You care for me.
Please help me to stop striving to make everything “okay” in my world. Your nearness is my good. My hope and stability are in You. I rejoice in the grace You showed me before I was even born. And I know nothing can change that.
In You, and in Your love and grace, I rejoice evermore.
Amen
Other posts in our series In the Moments:
Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing
Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.
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Nonfiction books by the Author:
Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.
For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy
Novels by the Author:
What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time
By finding two undelivered letters in an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains
Please Check out the Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.