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Rejoicing In The Lord

             Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

I need this verse right now. It’s not that there’s anything wrong except my focus and a bad thought habit. It’s the beginning of the day and I have lots to do, but I’m sitting here, working on my blog. If I were rejoicing, it would probably be over something I did, or something God allowed me to do, and not in God, Himself. And there is room for rejoicing about the other stuff, but that’s not what we’re told to do here.

I find that the only way I tend to rejoice in the Lord is when I’m singing hymns that rejoice in the Lord. I can’t even say that I rejoice in the Lord when I read Scripture that rejoices in Him, because I read on and the mood changes.

But this is a habit we can build. Today, we might only be able to focus on rejoicing in the Lord for a few seconds. We may have to use aids like worship music. Over time, we can build on that. And practicing this is likely to lead to deeper love and stronger faith. And if God does something that leads us to rejoice in Him spontaneously, there’s room for that, too.

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