REJOICE

Today’s devotion is from Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

The Passion Translation says, ‘Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let joy overflow, for you are united with the Anointed One!’

The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition says, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!’

Paul the apostle was in prison at the time of this writing – as was common practice, he had most likely been scourged, beaten and tortured, he was possibly in a condition with broken bones and festering sores – the Roman prisons at that time were cold, damp, bacteria filled dungeons filled with the stench of feces, urine and other putrid odors. In the midst of his pain, possibly at the brink of death because of his injuries, Paul said, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better (for me to live is Christ and for me to die is gain). But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.”

In the midst of his suffering, Paul makes the statement, “Rejoice! Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life! Delight, gladden yourselves in Him! Thrive joyfully!”

The Greek word translated as ‘rejoice’ is ‘chaíro’ – literally meaning ‘be well delight yourself and thrive joyfully’. Paul knew well that the joy of the Lord was his strength and when he made the choice to live and not die for the sake of the gospel, he chose to rejoice… he chose to thrive joyfully, and he chose to delight himself in the Lord by grace, through faith!

When times get tough… even unbearable, that is when, like Paul, we gather ourselves up, go to the throne of grace, and then we step out by grace through faith and we REJOICE! We thrive joyfully by faith, and we DELIGHT ourselves in the Lord by faith! As you do, the strengthening power of the anointing of the Holy Ghost will come upon you – He will pour in the healing, soothing, comforting, saturating oil and wine – the kind that restores your soul, heals your body and refreshes your spirit!

Again, we do this by grace through faith! You may not feel like rejoicing, you may not have any reason in the natural to rejoice, but you REJOICE nevertheless by FAITH! Not because of circumstances, but because of the goodness of God in spite of circumstances!

Rejoice, be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Again I say rejoice - let joy overflow, delight and gladden yourselves, thrive joyfully - for you are united with the Anointed One and His anointing!