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

When yous call back of the word "rejoice," what do you typically think of? Yous might think of rejoicing as being in a land of constant happiness and celebrating every item of your life with unending exuberance.

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

Philippians 4:4 has the apostle Paul telling the church of Philippi, in a letter of the alphabet, to e'er rejoice in the Lord, always celebrate the Lord. This carries the agreement that you do it whether you want to or not, whether you are happy with the Lord or not. When you celebrate with the correct idea in mind about how God works, it will exist possible to find means to rejoice in the Lord.

Permit us examine the post-obit passages in Philippians 4 to encounter why this advice from Paul is then profound and how nosotros tin concord to this belief of God's greatness at all times, finding the joy inside edifice up as we give Him cheers.

What Is the Context of Philippians 4?

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

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

Philippians 4 centers by and large on Paul conveying to the believers what to focus on during times of uncertainty. He wants them to also know that as they become through challenges, they volition be able to practice more because Christ is in them (Phil. 4:thirteen).

The fourth chapter of Philippians also encourages people to non be anxious for anything, but to requite their needs in prayer to God (Phil. 4:6) and gain God's peace in return (Phil. 4:7).

Paul also shared in Philippians 4:11-12 how he has learned to be content where he is because he knows what it is like to be hungry and total, to endure and to abound.

However, with Philippians iv:four, Paul only declares that we "rejoice in the Lord, e'er. Over again I will say, rejoice!" What Paul is saying hither is that we should rejoice at all times, whether we are sad, happy, angry, confused, or even tired: in that location shouldn't be a moment that goes by that we aren't giving thanks to the Lord for His love and provision.

joyful mom and daughter singing praise songs with headphones on

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Lordn

What Does It Mean to "Rejoice in the Lord Always"?

Rejoice, co-ordinate to Merriam Webster Dictionary, is "to give yous" or "to feel joy or great delight," while to rejoice in means to "accept or possess."

So, the Scripture conveys that to rejoice in the Lord is to have joy or please in the Lord; to feel joy when yous recall of Him always.

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

Although you lot can't see God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, yous come up to know that they are there with yous, as close as anyone can be to you lot. 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 lot, strengthening you when y'all are weak and encouraging you when you feel like giving up.

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

Especially in our nowadays status of life, it tin be hard to rejoice in the Lord when there is pain, struggle, and sadness all effectually united states of america. Still, it is possible to love on the Lord, to rejoice always, even when you lot don't experience similar it or are grappling with too much pain to recall of God.

Philippians 4:iv is followed by the well-known verses shared in Philippians 4:6-7, where it talks most not beingness broken-hearted 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 baby-sit your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

What these verses state is that when we rejoice in the Lord, we brainstorm to experience peace in our situations, peace in our hearts and minds, because we understand that God has our prayer requests well in paw and brings u.s.a. peace until those requests are answered.

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

Ane manner to rejoice when you don't feel like it is to call back back on the times that you were waiting on other prayer requests or were in like situations of distress, and how God provided when it didn't look similar anything would change. When you remember what occurred and how appreciative you were to God, this feeling should make full you with joy and tell yous that God tin can do this over again and again. He is a God who loves and cares for you.

So, Philippians 4:vi-7 tells usa not to be anxious, as the globe would have us exist, but hopeful, thankful, and at peace in knowing your prayer requests volition be taken intendance of. The world may be anxious in its lack of control, just yous don't have to be because you lot know who is in control.


Photo credit: Unsplash/Nghia-Le

A Prayer to Rejoice in the Lord

As we close, let's follow what is expressed in Philippians 4 and rejoice in the Lord always, as we give Him our prayer requests and expect His peace in return.

Lord God,

Thanks for loving us and caring for our needs every bit You do. For You know the plan ahead for us and know how to guide our steps to exist in line with that programme. Information technology's not always easy to rejoice and remain hopeful in You when bug and circumstances arise, but nosotros have to remember back on the times we have been in similar positions and remember how You blest us more than we idea possible. From big to petty, we can count the blessings that You lot gave u.s. before and discover they are more than numerous than we always thought possible. That is because You know our needs before we ask them, Yous know our heartaches before we have them, and Yous know what will grow us the most to exist all we tin can be in Your eyes. And then, allow us rejoice and be glad as we give You our prayers, knowing when we least expect it, You will bring them into fruition. We requite all of this to You in Jesus'southward name.

Amen.

God Will Provide

Rejoicing in all situations, particularly present, can be hard to practice, if not impossible, at times. However, God has called us to rejoice in Him e'er, knowing that nosotros are loved and cared for by an eternal God.

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

Equally we bypass feelings of apprehension of rejoicing when we are going through difficult situations, hopefully nosotros volition let those feelings be replaced past feelings of peace and confidence that the God who began a proficient piece of work in u.s. will fulfill it in His children.

Photograph credit: ©Getty Images/torwai

Blair Parke  is a freelance writer for BibleStudyTools.com, and previously worked for 8 years with Xulon Printing. A graduate of Stetson University with a Available's in Communications, Blair previously worked as a author/editor for several local magazines in the Central Florida area, including Celebration Contained and Lake Magazine in Leesburg, Florida and currently freelances for the Southwest Orlando Message.

This article is part of our larger resource library of pop Bible verse phrases and quotes. Nosotros want to provide like shooting fish in a barrel to read articles that answer your questions nearly the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture'south context. It is our hope that these will help you better understand the significant and purpose of God's Word in relation to your life today.

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