Day of Rejoicing

Paul the apostle knew what it meant to rejoice in the Lord and he encouraged others to do it also.  Paul said this in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

It seems like Paul would be an unlikely candidate to rejoice in the Lord.  From the time he was converted on the road to Damascus to the end of his life when he was beheaded in Rome, he suffered hardships, persecution and suffering.

Before his conversion Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin, a very self-righteous group of men who took a lot of pride in their self-righteous achievements, thinking themselves better than others.  Paul was a man that could boast about his achievements before his conversion also, read what he said in Philippians 3:4-6, “though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

To Paul, or any of the Pharisees or the members of the Sanhedrin, these would have been considered great accomplishments, but after Paul was converted they meant nothing to him.  Read what he said in the following verses in that chapter 7-11, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

When Paul was converted, he had a radical change take place in his life which gave him a reason to rejoice and he did it quite often.  Paul learned to be content in every situation and I think that included suffering, persecution and hardships, how else could he rejoice going through these experiences.  Read 2 Corinthians 11:18-33, “Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast. For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise! For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face. To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also.

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.”

Paul was truly a remarkable man, having gone through all that he did, he could still rejoice in the Lord and encourage other believers to do so also.  By no means am I putting myself in Paul’s shoes; but I have also, on many occasions, tried to encourage others to praise and rejoice in the Lord.  I haven’t gone through near what Paul went through, but there have been many struggles and hard times over the years, it hasn’t always been a mountaintop experience, there have been a lot of valleys also.

But I rejoice and praise the Lord for who He is, because He is worthy, not just for His provisions and blessings.  Anyone can rejoice and praise the Lord when everything is going great, but what about in the valleys, when hardships seem to overwhelm you?  When you can praise the Lord in the hard times, those times won’t seem near as bad.  I think the key is, to get our minds off the circumstances and situations that seem to drag us down and get our eyes on the Lord and just start rejoicing and praising Him. If you find yourself struggling, for whatever the reason, try giving God some sacrificial praise and start rejoicing in Him and see what happens.  I think He will show up for the Lord inhabits the praise of His people, try it.  Something to think about!  Have a super day and may the Lord bless you and yours!!