Rejoice

 Rejoice 

 

In Philippians 4:5-6 the Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand” (ESV). 

These days I have found myself doing a lot of things, but not rejoicing very much. My mind seems so quickly filled with reasons to complain or to point out the negative. It is a challenge to rejoice.  

I am so thankful for our study in the little book of Philippians these last few weeks, because it has confronted me with the need for joy and rejoicing during any and every circumstance. 

When I talk about rejoicing, I am not talking about a happiness that depends on circumstances. 

Rather, I am talking about a sense of deep and abiding contentment that is based on our trust in God who is sovereignly ruling over this universe and over our lives. Even in the most challenging times we still can choose to rejoice because our God reigns.  

That deep abiding faith is seen in the way we live. The Bible says, “let your reasonableness be known to everyone.”  Another way to translate “reasonableness” is “gentleness.”  Our faith is seen in the way we treat others, our kindness and gentleness toward others. 

Then finally, that abiding faith is rooted in the expectation that our Lord’s return is at hand. We do not know when he will come, we just know he is coming and when he comes, we will give an account as his followers, of how we have lived our life for him. 

So church, rejoice! Our God is sovereign, he reigns, and he rules. We live our life as followers of Christ at peace, with a gentleness that can be seen by a watching world. We live our lives anticipating our King’s return. Church rejoice, he is coming again!