Rejoice in the Lord Always!

In Philippians 4:4, Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again, I say, rejoice!”  The amazing thing is that Paul wrote that from a prison.  How could Paul rejoice while he was restrained in chains and awaiting his trial?  What did he know that we need to know?

About 10 years before Paul wrote that letter to the Philippians, he was in Philippi to share the gospel.  Paul and Silas were beaten and put in jail for casting an evil spirit out of a slave girl.  Late that night, while in a dark prison cell, Paul and Silas began to pray and sing to the Lord.  See Acts 16: 16-34.  It must have seemed strange to hear the song of the Lord in a place of suffering, shame, and abuse.  How odd to hear JOY coming from a place of SORROW. 

Paul and Silas could have cried, but they chose to rejoice.  They knew that Jesus Christ has overcome the world.  They knew that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They had a deep conviction that God is always in control, and God will have the last say.

Have you ever felt like you were in a prison?  Ever felt stuck between a rock and a hard place?  Maybe it was a prison of sickness, accusation, financial ruin, heartache, or depression.  What are you going to do when you’re in that hard place?  When you’re up a creek with a paddle, how are you going to handle it?

Paul shows us how to rejoice in dark place.  God is bigger than whatever you’re facing now.  Your circumstances may look bad, but God is still on the throne.  No matter what happened to Paul, he kept on praising.  He kept on rejoicing in the Lord.  When we are weak, we have to depend on God and his strength.  When we come to the end of ourselves, we see that we can’t accomplish anything apart from God.

If you are tired and weary, sick and tired of being sick and tired, trust the One who has overcome the world.  If you need help or encouragement, if you don’t know how long you can keep hanging on, seek the strength and joy that comes from the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Praise and rejoicing can help you see beyond your emotions, your circumstances, your enemies.  Your praise will establish a base for God’s wonder-working power.  If you rejoice in the Lord and his faithfulness and goodness, the Master will work it out.   God is always in control, and God will have the last say.