Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ~Phillipians 4:4

This is one of those classic Sunday school verses, isn’t it?

Of course, we are supposed to rejoice! There is always something to be thankful for. At the end of each day, if we look hard enough, there is always something positive we can be thankful for. Even when we know that’s true, and even when we are thankful for all that we have, sometimes it can be incredibly difficult to rejoice. Why do we struggle so much to rejoice in the Lord?

What Does it Mean to Rejoice?

Rejoicing is a step further than thankfulness, isn’t it? Genuine rejoicing would be a burst of joy or happiness.

There are circumstances where it is very easy to rejoice, and usually, they are all revolving around someone we know. I am currently rejoicing that one of my close friends had her first baby. It’s easy for me to rejoice for her because I know her.

When we get to know God better it becomes easier for us to rejoice in Him. His character is so incredible that the more I know Him and understand Him the easier it is to rejoice in Him.

What Do We Have to Rejoice About?

I’ve struggled a lot with this verse because sometimes, I don’t want to rejoice. Sometimes life is hard, sometimes I face trials that do not make me want to burst with joy, they make me want to curl up into a corner and disappear.

We aren’t meant to rejoice in our circumstances, the verse says to rejoice in the Lord.

Instead of focusing on ourselves, we focus on God.

Instead of looking at our circumstances, we look at what God has already accomplished

Our circumstances change, but at the end of the day, God always stays the same. He always sits on the throne, and he is always good.

Why Do We Rejoice?

This is why we rejoice:

• Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins (1 Peter 2:24)
• We have no condemnation (Romans 8:1)
• His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)
• He loves us with a love that we cannot comprehend (Ephesians 3:17-18)
• He calls us sons and daughters and has adopted us (Romans 8:15)
• He sustains us (Psalm 55:22)
• He continues to give us grace and mercy (Hebrews 4:16)
• He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8)

And so much more!

It’s not about us, it’s all about God. We can rejoice even when we face trials and hardship because we know these truths and these truths define our lives.

When Do We Rejoice?

Paul doesn’t say to rejoice in the Lord sometimes, he says to rejoice in the Lord always.

In the sunshine and the rain, through the good and the bad we have a reason to rejoice – God!

The verse doesn’t say to rejoice when life is going well, or when God gives us the answer we wanted, but rather to rejoice all the time.

Paul is using a classic literary technique where repetition = emphasis. Paul repeats himself before he even moves on to the next sentence. As if to say, “This is important!”

Don’t just skim through this part of the Bible and think “yeah I rejoice when I feel like.”

Think of the times when you’ve truly rejoiced. Often we think of a really powerful worship set at church, a time when God answered our prayers how we wanted him too, or we are given an undeserved blessing.

But if we were able to rejoice in the Lord, every day, or even always, God would be glorified in our lives.

How Do I Rejoice Always?

Praise God Every Day

As mentioned above, we serve a great God. The more I get to know our great God, the more I see that there is so much to praise Him for. I try to practice every day praising God based on who He is. It is important to take the focus off of ourselves and our current circumstances and focus on the best thing about our lives – our Great God.

Gratitude

As mentioned earlier, we have an abundance of blessings. God saving us and wanting to have a relationship with us is worthy of gratitude, and on top of that, He chooses to bless us with undeserved blessings. Focus our minds on what He has given to us.

Having Faith in God’s Plan

The God of this universe, the One who spoke all things into creation has a plan for your life. Although life’s circumstances seem to rarely make sense to us in the present, we can trust that God has a good plan for us and that we ultimately need to put our faith in Him. This helps us to be able to rejoice during the hard times because this life isn’t about trying to make ourselves as happy as possible, it’s about trying to bring the most glory to God. He is in ultimate control anyway, we just need to trust the process and release our need for control to Him.

Saturating Your Mind in God’s Word

If you’re having trouble thinking of what to rejoice about, look to the Word that the Lord wrote. I would encourage you specifically to look at letters of the New Testament. Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon were all written while Paul was in jail, and you can see sprinkled throughout those letters that Paul still has joy. It was in jail that Paul wrote this verse!

I would encourage you this day, this week, this month to rejoice in the Lord. Focus your mind and your thoughts towards Christ, His Character and what He’s done rather than focusing on ourselves or our circumstances. God stays the same no matter what happens in this life. So again I say, rejoice!