Articles
REJOICE IN THE LORD, ALWAYS!
At times, life can be a great disappointment, frustration and discouragement. Prolonged
sickness can leave us terribly discouraged with life. Job loss or change can leave us in total
despair, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. Friends and loved ones come and go, leaving us
feeling quite alone at times. Yet, we are instructed to “rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16).
The apostle Paul would say to the church in Philippi with greater emphasis, “Rejoice in the Lord
always, again I will say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4)! So, how do we rejoice when those times come
leaving us disappointed and discouraged?
First, understand that “rejoicing” and “happiness” are not necessarily the same
characteristic. While Paul was writing to the Philippians, he was in prison. Not sure that would
have translated to “happiness”. While in Philippi (Acts 16), Paul and Silas were cast into prison.
We remember that they were praying and singing praise to God. May I suggest that their singing
was probably “joyful” singing, based on their singing praise to God. These were not “happy”
times for Paul, but because of his life in the Lord, he could “rejoice”!
Second, we need to remind ourselves why we rejoice. It is because of our relationship
with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus and our hope in eternal life, the
problems of this world are just not that important. I am not suggesting a “Pollyanna” approach to
everything, but I do suggest that the difference between the way a Christian views the difficulties
of life compared to a pagan is based on the promise we have from Jesus, that He is always with
us and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:31-39). Because of our hope in Christ
and eternal life, we rejoice, even when we face “unhappy” times.
Finally, and this may sound repetitious, we rejoice always! No matter the
disappointments, frustrations, and discouragements we face, we rejoice! When we think of some
of the difficulties the apostle Paul experienced as a Christian and sometimes because he was a
Christian (2 Corinthians 11:24-28), we can begin to accept that our lives are really pretty good,
leaving us with no excuse but to rejoice in the Lord!
One last thought. If as Christians, we were to begin to “rejoice always”, what impact
could that have on those with whom we come into contact each day? Our rejoicing may open
doors so we can explain our hope in Jesus Christ and eternal life. It is truly a message which
needs to be heard by the world today. “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!”
~ P. Mowrer P.
