"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" - Philippians 4:4

When you lot recall of the word "rejoice," what do yous typically call up of? You might think of rejoicing every bit being in a land of constant happiness and celebrating every particular of your life with unending exuberance.

What about when you see the Scripture that says "rejoice in the Lord ever"? Does that accept the same sentiment as the mentioned state of happiness to a higher place?

Philippians iv:4 has the apostle Paul telling the church of Philippi, in a letter, to e'er rejoice in the Lord, ever celebrate the Lord. This carries the understanding that y'all do it whether you want to or not, whether you are happy with the Lord or not. When yous celebrate with the right thought in mind almost how God works, it volition be possible to detect ways to rejoice in the Lord.

Allow united states of america examine the following passages in Philippians 4 to see why this advice from Paul is then profound and how we tin concord to this belief of God'southward greatness at all times, finding the joy inside building upwards as we give Him thanks.

What Is the Context of Philippians 4?

The book of Philippians is the apostle Paul's letter to the church of Philippi to share with them wisdom and encouragement for living out their faith in Christ and standing strong when struggles and persecution might occur.

Remember that when it came to suffering for your calling, Paul was definitely the expert. He endured severe persecution for his conventionalities in Christ and call to ministry, and then communication from him on rejoicing during trials seems to exist a good idea.

Philippians 4 centers generally on Paul conveying to the believers what to focus on during times of uncertainty. He wants them to also know that equally they go through challenges, they will exist able to exercise more because Christ is in them (Phil. 4:13).

The fourth affiliate of Philippians too encourages people to not exist anxious for anything, but to give their needs in prayer to God (Phil. four:half-dozen) and gain God's peace in return (Phil. 4:vii).

Paul also shared in Philippians 4:11-12 how he has learned to be content where he is considering he knows what it is similar to be hungry and total, to endure and to abound.

Still, with Philippians 4:4, Paul only declares that we "rejoice in the Lord, always. Once again I will say, rejoice!" What Paul is saying hither is that we should rejoice at all times, whether we are sad, happy, angry, confused, or fifty-fifty tired: there shouldn't be a moment that goes by that we aren't giving thanks to the Lord for His honey and provision.

joyful mom and daughter singing praise songs with headphones on

Photograph credit: ©Getty Images/Lordn

What Does It Mean to "Rejoice in the Lord Always"?

Rejoice, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary, is "to give you" or "to experience joy or groovy delight," while to rejoice in means to "have or possess."

So, the Scripture conveys that to rejoice in the Lord is to have joy or delight in the Lord; to feel joy when you think of Him always.

How do you exercise that, you might inquire? Well, think of God as you would someone you tin run into in forepart of you, whether a family member, friend, co-worker, or someone from your church building or community. When you spend time with someone that brings you joy and happiness, you rejoice or please in beingness with him or her. You gloat it.

Although you tin't run across God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, you come to know that they are there with y'all, as close as anyone tin can be to you. You feel their presence when you lot feel calm in the midst of chaos, happiness or positivity in the midst of sadness, and conviction in the midst of uncertainty. Y'all are rejoicing in knowing that God is there with y'all, strengthening yous when yous 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 nowadays status of life, it tin be hard to rejoice in the Lord when there is hurting, struggle, and sadness all effectually us. Nonetheless, it is possible to honey on the Lord, to rejoice always, even when yous don't experience like it or are grappling with also much hurting to recollect of God.

Philippians four:4 is followed by the well-known verses shared in Philippians 4:6-vii, where it talks virtually not being anxious and giving your requests to the Lord with thanksgiving in your centre. Verse vii follows this with: "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

What these verses land is that when we rejoice in the Lord, we brainstorm to feel peace in our situations, peace in our hearts and minds, because we understand that God has our prayer requests well in hand and brings us peace until those requests are answered.

Fifty-fifty when yous accept been waiting a long time for a prayer request to happen or a situation to modify, you can rejoice and exist thankful for the Lord in the meantime because y'all know your prayer request has reached the ears of God and will be answered before long.

One way to rejoice when you don't feel like it is to call back back on the times that you were waiting on other prayer requests or were in similar situations of distress, and how God provided when information technology didn't await similar annihilation would change. When you lot recollect what occurred and how appreciative you were to God, this feeling should fill you with joy and tell you that God can do this again and again. He is a God who loves and cares for yous.

So, Philippians 4:6-seven tells us not to be anxious, as the world would have us be, but hopeful, thankful, and at peace in knowing your prayer requests will exist taken care of. The world may be broken-hearted in its lack of control, but yous don't have to be because you know who is in command.


Photo credit: Unsplash/Nghia-Le

A Prayer to Rejoice in the Lord

As nosotros close, let's follow what is expressed in Philippians 4 and rejoice in the Lord always, equally nosotros give Him our prayer requests and await His peace in render.

Lord God,

Give thanks you for loving united states of america and caring for our needs equally You do. For You know the plan ahead for u.s.a. and know how to guide our steps to exist in line with that program. It's non always easy to rejoice and remain hopeful in Yous when issues and circumstances ascend, just we take to think back on the times nosotros have been in similar positions and remember how Yous blessed u.s.a. more than we thought possible. From big to little, we tin can count the blessings that You lot gave usa before and detect they are more numerous than nosotros always thought possible. That is because You know our needs before we ask them, You know our heartaches earlier we have them, and You know what volition grow united states of america the most to be all nosotros can be in Your eyes. And so, allow the states rejoice and be glad every bit we give You our prayers, knowing when we least expect it, You will bring them into fruition. Nosotros give all of this to You in Jesus's proper name.

Amen.

God Will Provide

Rejoicing in all situations, especially present, can exist difficult to do, if not impossible, at times. However, God has called us to rejoice in Him always, knowing that nosotros are loved and cared for past an eternal God.

The apostle Paul knew well the suffering that nosotros can suffer in our 24-hour interval, having experienced several bouts of it throughout his ministry. But he reminds us in this affiliate that we need to ever be looking to God for hope and encouragement. God will provide for our needs when no i else tin.

As we featherbed feelings of anticipation of rejoicing when we are going through difficult situations, hopefully we will let those feelings be replaced by feelings of peace and conviction that the God who began a skilful piece of work in us will fulfill it in His children.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/torwai

Blair Parke  is a freelance writer for BibleStudyTools.com, and previously worked for viii years with Xulon Printing. A graduate of Stetson University with a Available's in Communications, Blair previously worked as a writer/editor for several local magazines in the Fundamental Florida surface area, including Celebration Independent and Lake Mag in Leesburg, Florida and currently freelances for the Southwest Orlando Bulletin.

This commodity is part of our larger resource library of popular Bible verse phrases and quotes. Nosotros desire to provide piece of cake to read articles that respond your questions almost the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture's context. It is our hope that these will help yous better understand the meaning and purpose of God'southward Word in relation to your life today.

  • Do Unto Others
  • The Truth Will Fix Yous Free
  • Guard Your Center
  • Love One Another
  • Blessed Are the Meek

Listen to our Daily Bible Verse Podcast At present !

Your Daily Bible Verse Podcast Banner Ad