How can I always rejoice in the Lord?

When you think of the word "rejoice," what do you typically think of? You may think of rejoicing as being in a constant state of happiness and celebrating every detail of your life with endless exuberance.

How about when you see Scripture that says "rejoice always in the Lord"? Do you have the same feeling as the aforementioned state of happiness?

In Philippians 4: 4 the apostle Paul tells the Philippian church, in a letter, to always rejoice in the Lord, to always celebrate the Lord. This brings the understanding that you do, whether you want it or not, whether you are happy with the Lord or not. When you celebrate with the right thought in mind about how God works, you can find ways to rejoice in the Lord.

Let's look at the following passages in Philippians 4 to understand why this advice from Paul is so profound and how we can agree with this belief in God's greatness at all times, finding the joy within that grows as we give thanks to Him.

What is the context of Philippians 4?
The book of Philippians is the apostle Paul's letter to the Philippian church to share with them the wisdom and encouragement to live their faith in Christ and remain strong when strife and persecution may occur.

Remember that when it came to grief over your calling, Paul was definitely the expert. He endured severe persecution for his faith in Christ and calling to the ministry, so his advice on how to rejoice during trials seems to be a good idea.

Philippians 4 focuses primarily on Paul communicating to believers what to focus on during times of uncertainty. He also wants them to know that as they face difficulties, they will be able to do more because Christ is in them (Phil. 4:13).

The fourth chapter of Philippians also encourages people not to be anxious about anything, but to give their needs in prayer to God (Phil. 4: 6) and obtain God's peace in return (Phil. 4: 7).

Paul also related in Philippians 4: 11-12 how he learned to be content where he is because he knows what it means to be hungry and full, to suffer and to abound.

However, with Philippians 4: 4, Paul only states that “we rejoice in the Lord, always. Once again I will say, rejoice! “What Paul is saying here is that we should rejoice at all times, that we are sad, happy, angry, confused or even tired: there shouldn't be a moment when we don't give thanks to the Lord for his love and providence.

What does it mean to "rejoice always in the Lord"?
To rejoice, according to Merriam Webster's dictionary, is to "give yourself" or "to feel joy or great joy," while rejoicing in the means to "have or possess".

Therefore, Scripture communicates that rejoicing in the Lord means having joy or delight in the Lord; feel joy when you always think of Him.

How do you do it, you might ask? Well, think of God as you would someone you can see in front of you, be it a family member, friend, colleague, or someone from your church or community. When you spend time with someone who brings you joy and happiness, you rejoice or delight in being with him or her. Celebrate it.

Even if you cannot see God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, you come to know that they are there with you, as close to you as possible. Feel their presence when you feel calm amidst chaos, happiness or positivity amidst sadness and trust amidst uncertainty. You are rejoicing in knowing that God is there with you, strengthening you when you are weak and encouraging you when you feel like giving up.

What if you don't feel like rejoicing in the Lord?
Especially in our current condition of life, it can be difficult to rejoice in the Lord when there is pain, struggle and sadness all around us. However, it is possible to love the Lord, always rejoice, even when you don't feel like it or are in too much pain to think of God.

Philippians 4: 4 is followed by the well-known verses shared in Philippians 4: 6-7, where it speaks of not being anxious and of giving one's petitions to the Lord with thanks in the heart. Verse 7 follows this with: "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

What these verses state is that when we rejoice in the Lord, we begin to feel peace in our situations, peace in our hearts and minds, because we understand that God has our prayer requests in hand and brings us peace as long as these requests are not granted.

Even when you've been waiting a long time for a prayer request to occur or for a situation to change, you can rejoice and be grateful for the Lord in the meantime because you know your prayer request has reached God's ears and will soon be answered.

One way to rejoice when you don't feel like it is to think back to times when you were waiting for other prayer requests or in similar distressing situations, and how God provided when it didn't seem like something was going to change. When you remember what happened and how much you appreciated God, this feeling should fill you with joy and tell you that God can do it again and again. He is a God who loves you and takes care of you.

So, Philippians 4: 6-7 tells us not to be anxious, as the world would like us to be, but hopeful, grateful and at peace knowing that your prayer requests will be met. The world can be anxious about its lack of control, but you don't have to be because you know who is in control.

A prayer to rejoice in the Lord
As we close, let us follow what is expressed in Philippians 4 and always rejoice in the Lord as we give Him our prayer requests and await His peace in return.

Lord God,

Thank you for loving us and taking care of our needs as you do. Because you know the plan ahead and you know how to guide our steps to be in line with that plan. It is not always easy to rejoice and remain confident in You when problems and circumstances arise, but we must think back to the times we have been in similar positions and remember how you have blessed us more than we thought possible. From large to small, we can count the blessings you have given us before and find that they are more numerous than we ever thought possible. This is because you know our needs before we ask them, you know our heartaches before we have them, and you know what will make us grow more to be all we can be in your eyes. So, let us rejoice and rejoice as we give You our prayers, knowing that when we least expect it, you will bring them to fruition.

Amen.

God will provide
Rejoicing in all situations, especially nowadays, can be difficult, if not impossible, at times. However, God has called us to always rejoice in Him, knowing that we are loved and cared for by an eternal God.

The apostle Paul was well aware of the suffering we can endure in our day, having experienced various periods during his ministry. But it reminds us in this chapter that we must always look to God for hope and encouragement. God will provide for our needs when no one else can.

While we ignore the apprehensive feelings of joy when we are going through difficult situations, we hope to let those feelings be replaced by feelings of peace and trust that the God who has started a good work in us will fulfill it in His children.