Is Rejoicing A Verb In Your Life?
Oh baby, I’m really excited about this series of blogs! It is part of Paul’s invitation to the Church and a continuation of our JOY blog series. It’s a recipe for Joy and Peace written from a guy who’s in prison: lack of privacy, beatings, uncomfortable, inconvenient, painful, stopping him from his mission to reach the gentiles, awaiting his trial with an uncertain verdict.
Rejoice in the Lord Always. And again I say—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
REJOICE in the Lord ALWAYS! If you’re curious, we just spent 3 weeks on Joy. We could have spent a year on it, but Joy is ultimately nothing someone can muster up. Joy is a constant sense of wellbeing in any and all circumstances. So when Paul invites us to Rejoice, twice, it is a strong invitation. Rejoice is a verb: Be Glad, take Joy with you everywhere you go. If Joy=Jesus, then we are invited to not muster up Joy, but to take the fruit of the Spirit with us. Re-Joy...over and over, as we walk with Jesus, we walk with Joy.
Remembering where Paul is as he is writing this is such a perfect example for us. Keep Joy by taking the powerful gifts of Jesus with you. Remember Jesus. Not just his death and resurrection but what He affords us today: power over the grave, strength in our weakness, comfort in knowing that He is at work in all things and with us always.
So because of these things, practice Re-Joy-cing today with us. Walk as though these things are true today. How would this affect your day?
(please come back this week...I’m so excited to walk through this passage with you!!!)