REJOICE
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
This is a popular verse that most people have heard a pastor preach on or heard in a song. But chances are they have misunderstood what it is all about. It is not a matter of hitting your finger with a hammer, and saying with a loud screaming shout, “Praise the Lord!” You may laugh, but sad to say I used to do this. I would replace my cuss words with praise the Lord. It didn’t change how I felt inside, and people thought I was crazy. Well, I admit today that I was. I had missed understood what God’s word was trying to tell me.
Anytime we misuse God’s word, we can’t expect God to honor it. Ignorance is really not an excuse. If I said last night's game blew my mind, you wouldn’t expect me to have half of my head gone. You would have expected the game to have really surprised or blessed me. Sometimes the same can be said with Christians using terms like rapture, born again, second birth, sanctified, filled with the Spirit, baptized in the Holy Spirit and the like, when we are talking to non-Christians. For them it is better to use definitions rather than words that are just common to Christianity. But this is a little off track from the intent of my message. But see how easy this whole thing can come about?
Some pastors use what is called rabbit trails in their message to prove their point. They will start off in Matthew, go to Acts, then to Genesis and so on, and before the message is over they have taken so many texts out of context that I think even God is left scratching his head. This can certainly be the case with what Paul is trying to tell the Philippians in this simple verse. It is not about trying to impress others around you, gloss over some pain or disappointment, or trying to convince ourselves that everything is worth praising God for since God is in perfect control.
The verse is all about our attitude towards Jesus and all he does and wants to do in our life. I am not saying it is stupid to praise the Lord after hitting your thumb from the standpoint that you are confident that he will make it better. It is not about what has happened, but rather how he wil help. I am sure Paul didn’t say, “I praise you Jesus for having the people about stone me to death.” I can see him saying, “Jesus, I praise you that they couldn’t take my life when I know that you have so much more instore for me to do here on earth. I praise you for your healing power, and I ask that you help me to recover quickly.” Now that is rejoicing in the midst of something terrible. The key to rejoicing in the Lord is to keep our focus on Jesus. Hebrews 12:2,3 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” The more we include Jesus in our presence of everyday life, the more we will have hope in getting through our day. And I don’t mean just getting through the day alive, I mean being able to enjoy our day and have fulfillment in it. It will mean getting up in the morning saying, “God, another morning, and not Oh, God, another morning!” There is so much to cause us to dread another day. Everything from smashed thumbs with hammers to smashed hearts by hateful words said. When we have our eyes fixed on Jesus he become the buffet board that things can bounce off of. All of a sudden those big problems seem small in comparison of our big God and Savior Jesus Christ.
I think that for most Christians their perspective on this verse is just backwards as mine was. It is not just for snatching victory out of the mouth of defeat, but rather to see the good in our life and being thankful to Jesus for it all. There is so much good in our life to be praising Jesus for. When we rejoice in all that God does and is, God in return rejoices that we love him enough to rejoice in him. We can make God happy you know. We can bless the Lord that will move his heart. Sometimes we think that we have to do something great to have his attention or to bless him. In reality just like with us a small word of gratitude or love goes a long way in blessing. Sometimes our fondest memories are of the intimate moments when someone we love touched our heart in love and appreciation. The same is true with the Lord! Rejoicing in the Lord begins with practicing his presence in our life. He said that he would never leave or forsake us not even to the ends of the world. He is there when we get up, and when we close our eyes to sleep. Sad to say we sometimes give more attention to our dog or cat than we do to Jesus during a our day. It is truly a shame when we stop to think that we can’t hardly wait to go to heaven to be with him for all eternity. Each step we take he is there. There is nothing wrong with talking to him and that conversation will soon turn to rejoicing. It is only natural to do it. There is so much to rejoice in him for. The other evening as I was watching the sun go down I saw a group of sparrows swoop down into one of our pine tree close to to where I was sitting. Jesus whispered to me, “You know I always have my eyes on them.” I smiled to myself and told him I knew he did and I know he is always watching me and mine too. Then came about eight barn swallows swooping around after some bugs. I have alway loved them. They are pretty little birds and that have a forked tail. Then suddenly another one of my favorite birds a goldfinch zoomed past me only about ten feet away. Where I live I very seldom see them, and God had brought one by just for me. Do I really believe this? I sure do!
Well, guess who did a little rejoicing? Jesus and I had a little mutual rejoicing going on for awhile. It was good for me and I know you will find it good for you too. Truly some of the best things in life are free!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Father, we love you and want to thank you for all you do and will do for us. You are the great and wonderful blessing to our soul. We praise you in Jesus’ name.
