“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say
it again; rejoice.”
Phil. 4:4 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul challenges his readers to express joy at
all times. He even repeats his advice. He must mean it!
This thought interests me. Paul wrote this while he was in
prison. Was Paul rejoicing because he was in prison? That’s not what he tells
us. He tells his readers to ”rejoice in the Lord.”
How can we find joy in circumstances the world looks at as
dire? We know the Lord God is with us as we go through our daily routines. We
also know He is with us when we happen upon things we can’t handle.
A friend of mine lost her sister a few weeks ago. Two weeks
later, her brother suffered a heart attack. When people heard of the brother’s
ordeal, they immediately thought of the fact that she had just been through the
loss of her sister.
When I saw her later in the day, she said she could feel the
prayers. She could rejoice over the fact God was with her.
When we find ourselves backed into a corner by harsh circumstances,
we have to learn to search for ways God is able to act on our behalf. Will he
allow us to sense His presence? Will He cause us to remember a song of praise
or a passage of scripture? Will he send someone to come alongside of us and
support us through prayer? Yes, because we know He does these things for us, we
can rejoice in the Lord. We can do it as Paul advises-always.
Last year I read the book, 1,000 gifts by Ann Voskamp. She
learned to trust God more by recording His gifts to her in a journal. I tried
this last year from late May until the end of the year. I enjoyed the exercise
so much; I started over on New Year’s Day. I am thankful to know that I have
already recorded 522 gifts from God this year. I give praise to Him each time I
record a gift.
A lovely reminder!
ReplyDeleteThat book is FANTASTIC.
Sandi: Thank you for stopping in. We are reading that book and discussing the questions from the study guide in a small group at church. I have read it twice now.
ReplyDeleteEncouraging word. We need to get through the gifts to the Giver,
ReplyDeleteHi David: Thank you for visiting my blog. Yes, we should look to the giver.Even in the harsh times ofour lives.
DeleteHi Cecelia! So many have benefitted from that book, and are making their blessing lists. What a great way to remind yourself that God gives so much. I miss a lot of it, writing it down would really help!
ReplyDeleteI like your thought that Paul wasn't finding joy in prison, but in the Lord. And that should be my focus in hard times. Nice!
Have a great day :)
Ceil
Hi Ceil; Thank you for visiting here. We have a small group at church.
DeleteWe are reading and watching the video that goes along with the book.
Don't you think we, like Paul, should look beyond what we can see and look for joy in our lives? We all need to look at the potentiality in all we see.