Joy – Rejoice in the Lord
Philippians 4:4-8
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
The opening line of the passage helps us root joy. Rejoice in the Lord – that does not mean rejoice in the present circumstances of our lives, but rejoice that God is greater than the circumstances of our lives. Rejoice that the present moment is not the ultimate moment – be that a moment of despair or a moment of elation. Regardless of the situation God is worth rejoicing in.
Our rejoicing in God reshapes the moments we are in whatever they might be. As we rejoice in God, the Triune God of grace, our brittleness, our hardness, our even bitterness are softened. We find that we become gentler, more at peace. As vs. 8 says, we are invited to remember the good, the true, just, honourable – to reflect on those things – all of which are gifts from God. To find joy in what God is doing, has done – and thus live with the certainty that God will be worthy of being rejoiced in even in the future.
Rejoicing in the Lord means trusting as Julian of Norwich (1343-1416) trusted in the midst of the Plague in Britain – she and those whom she discipled were lived by the motto – “All will be well, all will be well, and all manner of thing will be well.” Even as the plague wreaked its worst in Britain, Julian, and those like her, came to the realization that they could trust God for whatever might lie ahead. And therefore, they could rejoice in God for in the end “all will be well” in God.
We are invited to set our minds on the things that are worthy of praise, rejoicing in God.
PRAYER:
O Lord, we want to rejoice in you. But too often we are distracted by the dark clouds, the things that cause us anxiety. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on you, and the beauty that you are bringing into the world. Shape us to live in joyful hope in you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.