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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Command: Rejoicing


Here, Paul isn't just pleading us to be happy.  He's not just saying, when things are going well, indulge!  Look for the blessings!  Be joyous when you can find something that makes you smile!
Instead, what he is commanding us to do is to CHOOSE to rejoice.  In tiredness, in busyness, and even when life goes the complete opposite way that we would choose.  Through rocky relationships, through changes we don't expect, in heartbreak.
Paul even says it twice.  Rejoice.  
Notice, however, that Paul doesn't say, "Work your best to be happy!" or, "If this doesn't come easily, you're not a Christian!"
Instead, he tells us to rejoice in the Lord, and always, at that.  We are to make the choice to find our joy, our confidence, and our drive in our God.  When all else seems to fail, we can rest in the arms of Jesus, and that is cause for rejoicing.  When tragedy occurs, we know our God is infinitely good, and we can choose to find meaning in that.  When everything is going well, our root of happiness should still be our God instead of our circumstance.  Only then will we not be rocked when something changes or doesn't go our way.

Today, I'm choosing to rejoice.  I'm not rejoicing in my cute house or the beautiful weather or even in my incredible blessing of a husband.
I'm rejoicing because my God is.  I'm rejoicing because He exists and He is good.  Today, and every day, that is enough for me.

10 comments:

  1. Great reminder! Lovely blog post:)

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  2. Wonderfully said Sarah honey...God bless you today and always! Have a fantastic Wednesday sweetheart! Kori xoxo

    www.blondeepisodes.com

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  3. Your words ring true, and this being Holy Week, it's an especially good time to focus on the joy.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog today. We had a great time in Charleston last weekend.

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  4. amen! thanks for this today! i'm choosing to rejoice today too. He is so good!!!!

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  5. AMEN! I had some sad news today, but i'm going to CHOOSE to rejoice too. God is GOOD.

    I enjoyed my visit to your blog!

    Sharon
    www.goodtrueandbeautiful.com

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  6. such truth! Thank you for the reminder...and not just to rejoice in those worldly things God blesses us with...but to rejoice just because He is. His love is amazing.

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  7. Love this post and this verse. Even though Paul and Job were completely worlds apart (old and new testament), their views on life and perception of God's grace is exactly the same. They both preach to rejoice in the good times and bad.

    Thanks for the reminder hon.
    Happy Friday.

    xoxo

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  8. Good message. If we wait for circumstances to determine our joy, we will often have to wait a long time to feel that it. Instead, we can choose to focus on God's goodness and find reasons to glorify him and rejoice at anytime.

    I linked here from Finding Joy. You have a good blog.

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  9. I love this and just shared with my husband b/c I think he needs to be reminded of this - we've been having a lot of similar conversations lately.

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  10. Love this & written the verse down as a reminder - thanks for sharing!

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Your words make my heart smile.