Joy Always
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.” Philippians 4:4–5
One of the bright spots of this season has been the reconciliation of a personal relationship that has been broken for over 40 years. This relationship goes back prior to my accepting and committing to Christ. The brokenness in the relationship was 100% my fault due to the disrespect I showed towards an authority figure who had done nothing other than show me kindness and support in my early development. I rationalized throughout the years how that was an unfortunate incident but since it was prior to my coming to Christ there wasn’t much I could or be expected to do about it. I had that mindset until recently as I thought about people standing before a holy God giving an account for the way they lived their lives. Without sharing the specific details, I can share that after not having had contact with this person for more than 40 years, I was able to reach out and have a great conversation. I asked for forgiveness and forgiveness was given. What had been a nagging regret and a source of shame and guilt through the years has now been transformed into freedom and joy because of further surrender to Christ and His teaching on reconciliation (Matthew 5:23–24).
I share this in light of this morning’s text because of the greater context that connect to Paul’s command to rejoice; I mentioned this in the blog post from December 11 (Experiencing Peace, https://www.kapahulubible.org/blog/experiencing-peace). Paul was writing to the church to counsel to women who were at odds with one another to be at peace with one another and then ties that directly into our ability to experience joy,
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”
The key phrase in this command is, “in the Lord.” Surrendering, confessing, and asking for forgiveness only need take place once. But, to be “in the Lord” does mean that we act on the teachings of Christ when they intersect with our life. That’s what Paul was writing about in 2nd Corinthians 10:5,
“…taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
Taking every thought captive means refusing to let any belief, value, or mindset rule our lives, instead surrendering each one to the authority of Jesus as Lord. When we bring the inconsistencies of our lives into alignment with the teachings of Jesus and surrender them to Him, we are set free from thoughts of accusation that seek to hold us captive—whether those accusations come from within ourselves or from the world.
My desire for everyone is that we experience the fullness of joy, not only now during what should be a joyful season, but throughout our lives. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!