“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.” Php. 4:4
“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” Psalm 13:5
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
So often we run into situations where it’s difficult to remember to rejoice in the Lord always. In the hard times it’s easy to worry, get frustrated, or be consumed with anger, disappointment, or sadness. It can also be difficult when it seems like everything in life is good. In those times it’s easy to forget that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17). Or it’s easy to forget about our need for God every day. For me when times are good it’s easy for me to feel like I can handle life just fine on my own.
It can be especially difficult on the race to remember to rejoice always. Living in close community with others 24/7 can be hard at times. People coming together from all different church backgrounds can be challenging. Living in different places of the world seems to make it easy to get sick. Not having internet seems to almost be the end of the world for some people at times. Having the internet available this month has made it easy to get distracted and consumed by it rather than focusing on the ministry we have here. Those are just a few of the many examples from the race.
I think we’ve all been there before. It isn’t always easy to rejoice in the Lord. But as the verses above say it is God’s will for us to rejoice and be joyful always, even when we face trials. What good does it do us to worry or be angry and frustrated? Those things solve nothing. Instead we should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus by putting all our trust in Him. We should pray, we should be thankful, and rejoice. For me when I do these things, life seems to just fall into place. God is our provider and sustainer. “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me” (Psalm 54:4) Trust Him and His word and rejoice.
