My joy is in the Lord

 BY Argie Simonis

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." Phil. 4:4

Do you know that Paul was writting these words from prison? And yet, this letter mentions the words "rejoice" and "joy" more than any of his letters. True joy does not depend on circumstances.

It is also important that Paul here does not simply recommend that we rejoice. It is a command. "Rejoice" is a verb, it is something we do, while joy is a noun, it is a situation in which we find ourselves.

We may not always be happy, but we can always rejoice. We can rejoice no matter what happens to us, otherwise Paul would not have given us such a command.

So how do we do that?

The words "joy" and "rejoice" were used many times in this short letter, which is one of Paul's happiest letters, even though it was written while he was in prison. The Bible clearly teaches that our joy is in the person of Christ and not in the circumstances.

Joy is an action that is acted upon by us and not our reaction to the environment around us. Joy is a gift from God given to us in our salvation. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit of God who lives in us as born-again children of His and does not increase or decrease. (Gal. 5:22)

Our part is to "work" it, that is, to put it into practice:

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:12

Notice now that this command "Rejoice in the Lord always" is in the present imperative tense. Paul was giving a long-term application command, meaning that we must rejoice out of habit, to make this a way of life.

Most people see emotions, such as joy, as reactions to what is happening to them. But godly feelings are based on what our Christ has already done, regardless of what happens in the physical world. Otherwise, it would be absurd for Paul to command us to rejoice always. And he repeats it for a second time in the same verse, so that we do not miss this!

I understand that we live in difficult and wicked times and bad things happen even to good people. If emotions were merely chemical reactions of our brain to the environment around us, to problems or lack of problems, then in no case could we keep that command.

But emotions are actions based on our choices. If we choose to focus on what Christ has done for us, then we can rejoice no matter what happens around us.

No one wants to be unhappy, but our emotions follow our thoughts. Do you know that we can choose how we feel?

If we think negative things, either real or imagined, we will have negative emotions. If we think about the wonderful things God has done for us, we will have positive emotions, regardless of the conditions we experiencein our natural environment:

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Rom. 8:6

Rejoicing always has nothing to do with what is happening to us right now but has to do with focusing on what has already happened to us and what has been promised to us in Christ.

Notice also that we are commanded to rejoice "in the Lord". Many people do not experience true joy because their joy lies in their circumstances. They expect to be happy when things go well in their lives, which of course does not happen very often.

What we need to do is rejoice in who the Lord is and what He has done for us. He never changes (Hebrews 13: 8), and

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness." Lem. 3:22-23

Amen!