Philippians 4:4-5
Verse 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Too often we try to keep our faith life and our “real” life separate. That may be one reason we struggle to genuinely live out our joy. We need to ask ourselves what comes to mind when we think of the word “rejoice” and evaluate if it is merely tied to the church building. If rejoicing is tied to the time of singing worship in our Sunday services, we are missing out on truly living a life of joy.
Rejoicing is more than singing a few praise songs when we get together to worship. In fact, we don’t even have to be together to rejoice. We should be rejoicing even in the moments when no one is watching. If we only rejoice when we have an audience it could be that we aren’t finding our joy in the Lord but in the attention of other people.
We need to pay attention to the fact that this is a command from Paul to his friends in Philippi. The missionary doesn’t say, “Try to rejoice when you feel good.” And if that wasn’t enough Paul repeats it to make sure they get it. He was serious about what he was requiring of the believers. He knew that if they weren’t serious in their acts of rejoicing, it was revealing their true hearts. A person living with no joy, is not reflecting the character of Christ.
None of us like to be around grumpy or sad people all day and yet we think we have the right to act that way ourselves even though we are to be demonstrating God’s joy to those we come in contact with. If Jesus had been a gloomy Gus no one would have wanted to be around Him. Part of what drew people to Him was His joy. It wasn’t His singing or the way He verbally praised the Father, it was the way He lived out joy.
To live out joy we need to decide to obey Paul’s command. We need to live in such a way that joy exudes from us, not because we are forcing joy but because it is at the very core of who we are. Because our relationship with the Lord is the root of every thought and every thought leads to action.
Making It Personal
Do you find it difficult to live joyfully? What are some reasons you find joy in the Lord? Can people around you tell you have joy?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think it looks like for someone to have joy? How is joy different than being happy? Do you have the joy of the Lord in your heart?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for showing us how to live joyously. Help us see things through Your eyes and give us the wisdom to choose joy in every circumstance. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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