"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
We quote Paul's words from the fourth chapter of Philippians all the time. But I'm struggling to live it today. Joy is a choice, not a feeling. It is a lifestyle, not an emotion. Paul writes these words in chains, in isolation, suffering for the Gospel. Are your circumstances worse?
Rejoice in the Lord at all times.
Showing posts with label rejoicing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rejoicing. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Heart's ease
"Prayer is heart's ease to a gracious soul. Prayer will smooth the countenance; it should do so. None will long remain miserable, who use aright the privilege of going to the mercy-seat of a reconciled God in Christ Jesus."
-Matthew Henry, in his commentary on 1 Samuel
I wrote yesterday of times where the brokenness in the world seems much more prevalent than the redeemed. This is true often enough, but we are also called to praise the Lord at all times, not just acknowledging His existence but rejoicing in Him. Before we raise our arguments against this, contending that our situation is different, that surely our circumstances exclude us from the group who are required to rejoice, let's remember that these words were written by men whose trials most likely outweigh ours by a long shot.
Do we believe God is on the throne? Do we believe He is good? Do we believe He hears us when we pray? Then let us pray, leave our burdens at His feet, and continue on with the command He has given us. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!
-Matthew Henry, in his commentary on 1 Samuel
I wrote yesterday of times where the brokenness in the world seems much more prevalent than the redeemed. This is true often enough, but we are also called to praise the Lord at all times, not just acknowledging His existence but rejoicing in Him. Before we raise our arguments against this, contending that our situation is different, that surely our circumstances exclude us from the group who are required to rejoice, let's remember that these words were written by men whose trials most likely outweigh ours by a long shot.
Do we believe God is on the throne? Do we believe He is good? Do we believe He hears us when we pray? Then let us pray, leave our burdens at His feet, and continue on with the command He has given us. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Equipped
Forgive as I have forgiven you.
Love one another.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
Be holy, as I am holy.
Hard words. They sound good, certainly, on skimming over them. We generally agree that forgiveness is a positive thing, we like to love and be loved, and we don't mind having joy. Holiness is a little tougher to get behind sometimes, but we could accept it. But always? The command to rejoice is the only one that explicitly includes the always, but it's implicit in the others. These commands are to fuse together into the lifestyle we live. We are to forgive every offense, love every fellow human being, and rejoice in every circumstance. We are to be holy, blameless, and set apart by our faithfulness in following these commands. Every day.
The secret is this: if He demands it of us, He equips us for it. If He sends us down a path, He has walked it before and will walk it again by our sides. We do not have to follow these commands on our own strength; in fact, we cannot. But He lived them once in a perfect life, died for our failure to live them, and will live them again through us if we let Him. And we, through dying to ourselves and living to Him, will benefit. Everything is to be gained-- forgiveness, love, joy-- and nothing is to be lost except those things that will only cause us sorrow in the end.
Love one another.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
Be holy, as I am holy.
Hard words. They sound good, certainly, on skimming over them. We generally agree that forgiveness is a positive thing, we like to love and be loved, and we don't mind having joy. Holiness is a little tougher to get behind sometimes, but we could accept it. But always? The command to rejoice is the only one that explicitly includes the always, but it's implicit in the others. These commands are to fuse together into the lifestyle we live. We are to forgive every offense, love every fellow human being, and rejoice in every circumstance. We are to be holy, blameless, and set apart by our faithfulness in following these commands. Every day.
The secret is this: if He demands it of us, He equips us for it. If He sends us down a path, He has walked it before and will walk it again by our sides. We do not have to follow these commands on our own strength; in fact, we cannot. But He lived them once in a perfect life, died for our failure to live them, and will live them again through us if we let Him. And we, through dying to ourselves and living to Him, will benefit. Everything is to be gained-- forgiveness, love, joy-- and nothing is to be lost except those things that will only cause us sorrow in the end.
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