Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4
Periods of prosperity make it easy for us to be happy, hopeful and content. Those good times often trick us into believing that we are faithfully following Paul’s instructions to ‘rejoice in the Lord.’ But are we really doing what the scripture says if joy is our response only when life is on the upswing? What about now… when life is very uncertain, when all our plans are disrupted, and the future looks more unstable than most of us can ever remember?
Test yourself. How much joy is flowing from your heart in these moments? If complaints, worry and anxiety have set the cadence of your thoughts and actions, then maybe it’s time to re-examine what Paul really said in this passage.
No where in scripture are we told to base our contentment on the status of things around us. In fact, Paul penned these words from a jail cell that by any reasonable standard erased his personal comfort, limited his ability to fulfill his church building mission, and frustrated his goals. Yet through all this, he continued to rejoice. He realized (just as we can) that when all we depend on in this world evaporates, we can still “rejoice in the Lord” because our God never changes. It’s when we anchor ourselves to His immovable nature that we can know peace, contentment, and yes, even joy … regardless of what happens around us!
Very good! I think of how many psalms begin w/ anguish and fear then turn on a dime to praise. Honesty and faith. Or Jesus sweating drops of blood, asking to be spared something too horrible for us to really imagine physically, much less spiritually. But then saying, “Not my will but yours.” Total trust.
Peace & praise in times of trauma or stress is a POWERFUL witness to unbelievers & an equally powerful encouragement to believers.
We really only find out how faithful we are in the valley, never on the mountain top. Thank you for this encouraging post!
Thanks for linking up at InstaEncouragements!
Absolutely! It’s these times when we can rejoice that during the times of abundance we were faithful and in prayer and the word. God is on the move right now and you can feel the excitement of Him. I’m not at all minimizing the pain and suffering as I have a family member who’s fighting for his life. But with my eyes focused on Almighty God I can see His miracles of healing for my family member. God is still on His throne and in control!
Thanks Tammy. We can always rejoice because God is always the same. We can depend on Him no matter what!