Philippians 4:4 Amplified Bible
4 Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice!
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end; Amen, Amen.
Worldly happiness is not the same as godly happiness.
Godly happiness is called joy.
In the Bible, the word joy is a celebration term.
Thus, Paul is calling for everyone’s everlasting unrelenting celebration of God.
Except for the inescapable reality of our sinful humanity is such a goal realistic?
Reality teaches that the difference between joy and secular happiness is that the latter depends on what happens; it’s circumstantially driven forward by human responses which we have learned, incorporated into us, by all life’s experiences.
So, if things are going in an upward direction in life, you raise up from your bed in the morning and feel up, but if things are going down, you feel down and sad.
This life cycle ordered by God keeps you and me on an emotional roller coaster.
Biblical joy, by contrast, has to do with stability and celebration on the inside regardless of circumstances on the outside.
We must choose to rejoice in order to experience the joy God promises us.
Remember, our happiness cannot always be turned on like a tap.
Remember too, our joy does not always come at the flip of a switch.
As Christians, we have highs and lows like anyone else.
Sometimes we feel great; other times we feel stuck.
So, in that case, what are we supposed to do we do with a biblical command that tells us to be joyful continually—or, as the text has it, to “rejoice … always”?
Some people conceive of joy as something that, like the tides of the oceans are responding to the moon, joy ebbs and flows according to our circumstances.
If this were so, the path to joy would be to ensure that all of our circumstances contain as many good things as possible and that we rigorously, vigorously cut out and avoid anything, and anyone, that by its occurrence, will bring us down.
But the apostle Paul offers us a different take.
The Christian joy he describes is intended to be steady and stable.
Paul clues us in to the source of this joy here:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
The key is the phrase in between “Rejoice” and “always”—“in the Lord.”
Those three little words make all the difference in the world!
If we let our joy ebb and flow with our circumstances, then we’re inevitably going to find ourselves in trouble.
Hard times always will come, sooner or later.
But, joyful times will always come also, sooner or later – Ecclesiastes 3:1
But if we make it our mission and ministry in life to rejoice in the Lord, who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), then our joy is covenanted and anchored in someone unchanging, and so it will be unfading.
Christian joy is a joy which can also coexist with deep sadness.
Our circumstances may bring us diverse degrees and measures of grief, but they need not diminish nor to extinguish our joy if you find it exclusively “in the Lord” alone —in who He is, how He loves us, and what He has promised us.
Today, practice, place your hope in Him and remind yourself of His unchanging nature and you will walk on true path toward rejoicing always, even in hardship.
Today, no matter your circumstances, you can find solace, rest, and, yes, even joy in the glorious truth that God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is with you, beside you, through it all, will one day, set all things aright.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 The Message
16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.
3 And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!
4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.
5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!
7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.
9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!
11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end; Amen, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 