Time To Rejoice
“Rejoice in the Lord,
always, and again I say rejoice.” Philippians 4:4
“Let the buyer
beware” must be the oldest business problem in history. Today it pertains to those irritating little
details the seller doesn’t mention: “The
transmission in this car works great (only when you’re backing up)” or “This
house has new carpeting in each room (because the house floods each spring).”
When the Lord saved
Paul and called him into ministry, He showed Paul how many things he would have
to suffer for the sake of the Gospel (Acts 9:16). But the
Lord left something out. He didn’t tell
him (at least at that point) about the immense magnitude of joy that Paul would
soon experience. Unlike unscrupulous
merchants, the Lord started with the tough, honest description, then surprised
Paul with benefits that would overrule, even annul, his sufferings.
Decades later, as he
sat in a prison awaiting his execution, Paul wrote a final letter to his
greatly loved fellow-believers in Philippi. Perhaps remembering that that church was born
because Paul rejoiced in the Lord instead of bemoaning his unjust, cruel
treatment by that city, perhaps recalling the many ways the Lord proved His
faithfulness, Paul reminded the church of these twelve, more obvious, reasons
for rejoicing.
We, too have these reasons for rejoicing:
1. The joy of remembering and praying for others
(1:4)
2. The joy of witnessing God’s power and
passion for revealing Jesus (1:18)
3. The joy of postponing Heaven in order to help
others mature in Christ (1:25)
4. The joy of serving others as ambassadors of
the Lord Jesus Christ (2:2)
5. The joy of being examples of how God
wonderfully saves people (2:16)
6. The joy of being able to fulfill our mission
before going to Heaven (2:17)
7. The joy of witnessing God’s mercy in the
people we love (2:28)
8. The joy of knowing that God’s Word warns us
of danger (3:1)
9. The joy of knowing that Jesus alone is the
inexhaustible supply of all our
needs (3:3)
10. The joy of being
citizens of Heaven, not earth (4:1)
11. The joy of knowing that Jesus is always ample
cause for rejoicing (4:4)
12. The joy of being given opportunities to
declare and demonstrate God’s love
(4:10)
So today, take time
to rejoice. We have innumerable
reasons to. Whether you are in a prison
or a palace or somewhere in between, God has given us real, lasting joy. Now that’s something to celebrate.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) Mention one thing today that you are grateful
for.
2) Sing a favorite song that speaks of God’s
goodness.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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