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

When you recall of the word "rejoice," what do you typically remember of? Yous might think of rejoicing every bit being in a land of constant happiness and celebrating every detail of your life with unending exuberance.

What nearly when you lot see the Scripture that says "rejoice in the Lord always"? Does that have the aforementioned sentiment equally the mentioned state of happiness above?

Philippians four:four has the apostle Paul telling the church of Philippi, in a alphabetic character, to always rejoice in the Lord, always celebrate the Lord. This carries the agreement that yous do it whether yous want to or not, whether you are happy with the Lord or not. When you celebrate with the correct thought in mind about how God works, it will be possible to find means to rejoice in the Lord.

Let us examine the following passages in Philippians 4 to see why this advice from Paul is so profound and how we tin agree to this belief of God'south greatness at all times, finding the joy within building up every bit we requite Him thank you.

What Is the Context of Philippians iv?

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

Remember that when information technology came to suffering for your calling, Paul was definitely the expert. He endured severe persecution for his belief in Christ and call to ministry, and so advice from him on rejoicing during trials seems to be a good idea.

Philippians 4 centers mostly on Paul conveying to the believers what to focus on during times of incertitude. He wants them to also know that every bit they get through challenges, they will exist able to exercise more because Christ is in them (Phil. 4:thirteen).

The 4th affiliate of Philippians likewise encourages people to not be anxious for annihilation, simply to give their needs in prayer to God (Phil. 4:6) and proceeds God's peace in return (Phil. four:7).

Paul also shared in Philippians iv:11-12 how he has learned to be content where he is considering he knows what it is like to be hungry and full, to suffer and to grow.

All the same, with Philippians four:4, Paul only declares that we "rejoice in the Lord, always. Once more I will say, rejoice!" What Paul is saying here is that we should rejoice at all times, whether we are sad, happy, angry, confused, or even tired: at that place shouldn't exist a moment that goes by that we aren't giving thanks to the Lord for His beloved and provision.

joyful mom and daughter singing praise songs with headphones on

Photograph credit: ©Getty Images/Lordn

What Does It Hateful to "Rejoice in the Lord E'er"?

Rejoice, co-ordinate to Merriam Webster Dictionary, is "to give you lot" or "to feel joy or neat please," while to rejoice in means to "have or possess."

And so, the Scripture conveys that to rejoice in the Lord is to accept joy or delight in the Lord; to experience joy when you think of Him e'er.

How practice you lot do that, yous might ask? Well, think of God as you would someone you can run across in front end of you, whether a family member, friend, co-worker, or someone from your church or community. When you spend time with someone that brings you lot joy and happiness, you rejoice or delight in being with him or her. You celebrate information technology.

Although you tin't encounter 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 feel calm in the midst of chaos, happiness or positivity in the midst of sadness, and confidence in the midst of uncertainty. You are rejoicing in knowing that God is there with you, strengthening you lot when you are weak and encouraging you when you feel like giving up.

What if You Don't Feel Like Rejoicing in the Lord?

Specially in our present status of life, information technology tin exist difficult to rejoice in the Lord when there is pain, struggle, and sadness all effectually us. Still, it is possible to love on the Lord, to rejoice always, even when you lot don't feel like information technology or are grappling with also much pain to think of God.

Philippians four:4 is followed past the well-known verses shared in Philippians 4:6-7, where it talks most non being anxious and giving your requests to the Lord with thanksgiving in your 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 land is that when we rejoice in the Lord, we brainstorm to feel peace in our situations, peace in our hearts and minds, considering we understand that God has our prayer requests well in hand and brings united states of america peace until those requests are answered.

Even when you accept been waiting a long time for a prayer request to happen or a situation to change, you can rejoice and exist thankful for the Lord in the concurrently because you know your prayer request has reached the ears of God and will be answered soon.

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

So, Philippians four:half dozen-7 tells us not to be anxious, as the world would have us be, merely hopeful, thankful, and at peace in knowing your prayer requests will be taken care of. The earth may exist anxious in its lack of control, merely you don't have to exist because you know who is in command.


Photograph credit: Unsplash/Nghia-Le

A Prayer to Rejoice in the Lord

Every bit we close, let'south follow what is expressed in Philippians 4 and rejoice in the Lord always, as we give Him our prayer requests and await His peace in return.

Lord God,

Cheers for loving usa and caring for our needs as Y'all do. For Yous know the plan alee for us and know how to guide our steps to be in line with that program. Information technology's not always like shooting fish in a barrel to rejoice and remain hopeful in You lot when problems and circumstances arise, but we have to retrieve back on the times we have been in similar positions and call up how Y'all blessed us more than we idea possible. From big to little, we can count the blessings that You gave usa before and find they are more numerous than we ever thought possible. That is because You know our needs before we inquire them, You know our heartaches earlier we accept them, and You know what volition grow us the most to exist all we tin can be in Your eyes. Then, permit u.s.a. rejoice and exist glad as we give You our prayers, knowing when nosotros least look it, You will bring them into fruition. We give all of this to You in Jesus's name.

Amen.

God Volition Provide

Rejoicing in all situations, especially nowadays, can exist hard to practice, if not impossible, at times. Even so, God has called us to rejoice in Him always, knowing that we are loved and cared for by an eternal God.

The apostle Paul knew well the suffering that we can endure in our twenty-four hour period, having experienced several bouts of it throughout his ministry. But he reminds us in this chapter that we demand to always be looking to God for hope and encouragement. God will provide for our needs when no one else tin.

As we bypass feelings of apprehension of rejoicing when we are going through hard situations, hopefully we will allow those feelings exist replaced by feelings of peace and conviction that the God who began a adept work in us volition fulfill information technology in His children.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/torwai

Blair Parke  is a freelance writer for BibleStudyTools.com, and previously worked for eight years with Xulon Press. A graduate of Stetson University with a Bachelor's in Communications, Blair previously worked every bit a writer/editor for several local magazines in the Primal Florida area, including Celebration Independent and Lake Magazine 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 want to provide easy to read manufactures that respond your questions nigh the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture's context. It is our hope that these will help you better sympathize the meaning and purpose of God's Word in relation to your life today.

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  • The Truth Will Gear up You Gratis
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