What You Need is a Little Joy/ Daily Devotional Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice (Philippians 4:4). Philippians is and epistle or a letter in which Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi asking them to receive him with joy. So it is a joyful letter. In fact, many call it the “The Epistle of Joy. This letter was uplifting, encouraging and upbeat. So in Philippians 4:4 Paul wrote, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Paul is saying, Rejoice! Im telling you rejoice because you have more reason to rejoice than not to! Paul was in prison and suffering during this time. Nevertheless, he wrote about how he found joy in the Lord even though there he faced heartache and pain. Even though, suffering was very present in his life. Paul wants believers to know the joy found in loving and serving the Lord far overshadows any suffering or pain. Can you see that in your life? Probably not, that is why seeing is not faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen. So many times we get so easily trapped in what is or has gone wrong in our lives that we begin seeing life from the perspective of our physical eyes instead of through faith’s eyes. Maybe your life has been flooded with obstacles, and you just can’t seem to get over one before there is another and fell as though you can’t keep your head above water. Therefore, you have become too weighed down by life to have any joy. Maybe you feel defeated more often than not. Maybe things keep breaking down in your life, your home, your marriage, relationships or even your car. Life throws us all kinds of curves, but we must not let life suffocate our joy. That is exactly what Paul wants us and the Philippians to know. Easier said than done, right? But as believers in the Almighty, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and the Master of everything; we must never bow down to self-pity, sorrow and defeat. We are far more than conquerors. We are victorious though Jesus Christ no matter what curves balls are thrown our way. David too found that to be true as evidenced in the Psalms. He found the secret to learning to rejoice or finding joy in every circumstance. We must realize that no matter what is going on in our life; joy is not and should not ever be dependent upon our circumstances. This is what David realized, but he also realized something much deeper. He realized that our ability to rejoice or find joy is totally, 100 percent, always dependent upon who is in our heart. We might even say, what is in our heart referring to the love of God. Our joy is and always will be determined by our faith and surrender to Jesus. Not just knowing Him, but have a trusting relationship with Him. That is exactly what is reflected in David’s writings called the Psalms. In Psalm 9:14, David talks about some real troubles that were weighing upon his heart and mind, but in verse fourteen he says, I will rejoice in Your salvation. David knew that no matter what circumstances starred him in the face, no matter how heavy his troubles were, and no matter what prison chains life put on him there was something that nothing and no one could ever take away. The Lord and His salvation! We can always find joy in our salvation. Listen, not just the fact that we have been saved from the death penalty of our sins, guaranteed eternal life instead of eternal punishment, but we also have the power or victory over sin that Jesus gives us in our day to day life. When we are anchored down by life’s trouble that is a perfect time to rejoice and we will if focus on the blessings God has given us through our Savior. He gives us all the strength we need. He supplies our every need. He brings more grace, mercy, and peace than we could ever imagine. What we really need is a little joy, and it is found only in the Lord. So Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 13:46:05 +0000
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