The Bible speaks a number of
times regarding rejoicing. David once stated, “This is the day which the
Lord has made ,” and then he added, “We will rejoice
and be glad in it ” ( Psalm 118:24 ).
Why isn’t that just as true
today as the day David wrote it? A celebrated writer once wrote, “Every new day
is a miracle.” The point: “the Lord did not owe us another day, but He gave it
to us.”
In the days of Nehemiah ,
when the people of God had combined their efforts in a great cause, they were
coaxed to rejoice, and were reminded: “the joy of the Lord is your strength” ( Nehemiah 8:9-10 ).
Then the people responded with great rejoicing “because they now understood the
words that had been made known to them ( Nehemiah 8:12 ).
Even in the shadow the hideous
cross, Jesus told the disciples, “ Be
of good cheer, I have overcome the world ”
( John 16:33 ).
Of course, they were not glad that Jesus had to suffer so, but were to rejoice
at the happy results — their redemption (cf. Ephesians 1:7 ;
Romans 3:24-25 ).
It is recorded of the early
church that they “received their food with glad and generous hearts ”
( Acts
2:46 ESV ).
In the marvelous book of
Philippians, we read that Paul counseled Christians to “rejoice in the
Lord ” ( Philippians 3:1 );
and then a chapter later repeated, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and
again I will say rejoice ” ( Philippians 4:4 ).
The Thessalonians were instructed similarly, to “rejoice always ”
( 1 Thessalonians 5:16 ).
What a wonderful reason Jesus
gave the early disciples to rejoice when He said, “rejoice that your
names are written in heaven ” ( Luke 10:20 ).
Have we ever thought that when
we are told to “rejoice,” that it implies making a conscious effort to do so?
Happiness is not automatic — it’s
a choice!
Prayer
Requests: ____________________________________________________________