“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” –Philippians 4:4 (ESV).
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” –I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV).
Sometimes I find the Lord’s commands extremely hard to follow. Paul’s statement of the Lord’s will in Philippians 4:4 and in I Thessalonians 5:16 is one of these: “Rejoice always.”
Always, Lord, when troubles beset on every hand? When calls for help seem beyond my ability to fulfill? When my own perceived needs seem so paramount that I can hardly see the light of day, much less offering to help others who seem even needier than I? Rejoice always? There must be some mistake, Lord! Herein is the gist of my argument at times with the Lord. But yet I hear His insistent “Rejoice always.” Following closely on that commandment are some others that are equally as hard for me to live out: “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances…” And then comes this explanation with which I can’t possibly argue: “for this is the will of God for you.”
The morning fog lifts and the sunlight shines forth brightly. The whole world outside is turned into one dazzling landscape as sun’s ray sparkle upon morning frost. Just like the morning is foggy and dark until the sunlight filters through and transforms the scene, so the impossibility of “rejoicing always” receives spiritual illumination. I don’t have to do this constant rejoicing on my own! “Do not quench the Spirit,” Paul writes (I Thes. 5:19). And going further, he states, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The secret, I think, is abiding and allowing the Spirit of God to live within, helping to sanctify (make holy). “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” declares Paul (I Thes. 5:24).
It is possible to rejoice, even when one cries. I’ve experienced times like that over and over again in my life. It is then that we hold on to God’s faithfulness, not our own weaknesses and woes. And considering how He loves and provides for His children, how can we help to respond in any way except rejoicing always? I invite you, with me, to take on a new attitude for this New Year: Resolve to rejoice always. There is always good…and God’s undergirding reasons…for every circumstance that besets us. In this foreknowledge, we can, indeed, rejoice always! And then in retrospect, we can look and see how God worked it all out for His glory. The prophecy of Psalm 19:8 will surely come to pass: “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” –I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV).
Sometimes I find the Lord’s commands extremely hard to follow. Paul’s statement of the Lord’s will in Philippians 4:4 and in I Thessalonians 5:16 is one of these: “Rejoice always.”
Always, Lord, when troubles beset on every hand? When calls for help seem beyond my ability to fulfill? When my own perceived needs seem so paramount that I can hardly see the light of day, much less offering to help others who seem even needier than I? Rejoice always? There must be some mistake, Lord! Herein is the gist of my argument at times with the Lord. But yet I hear His insistent “Rejoice always.” Following closely on that commandment are some others that are equally as hard for me to live out: “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances…” And then comes this explanation with which I can’t possibly argue: “for this is the will of God for you.”
The morning fog lifts and the sunlight shines forth brightly. The whole world outside is turned into one dazzling landscape as sun’s ray sparkle upon morning frost. Just like the morning is foggy and dark until the sunlight filters through and transforms the scene, so the impossibility of “rejoicing always” receives spiritual illumination. I don’t have to do this constant rejoicing on my own! “Do not quench the Spirit,” Paul writes (I Thes. 5:19). And going further, he states, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The secret, I think, is abiding and allowing the Spirit of God to live within, helping to sanctify (make holy). “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” declares Paul (I Thes. 5:24).
It is possible to rejoice, even when one cries. I’ve experienced times like that over and over again in my life. It is then that we hold on to God’s faithfulness, not our own weaknesses and woes. And considering how He loves and provides for His children, how can we help to respond in any way except rejoicing always? I invite you, with me, to take on a new attitude for this New Year: Resolve to rejoice always. There is always good…and God’s undergirding reasons…for every circumstance that besets us. In this foreknowledge, we can, indeed, rejoice always! And then in retrospect, we can look and see how God worked it all out for His glory. The prophecy of Psalm 19:8 will surely come to pass: “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”
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