2 Corinthians 13:11 11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ESV
Can you remember a day when you rejoiced in the Lord? Can you remember an occasion or a season when you were just bursting with immovable pleasure, happiness, contentment, and joy over what the Lord had done or was doing in your life (or maybe in the life of someone close to you)? Joy is an interesting thing.
Paul urged the Corinthians to rejoice. He urged the Philippians to rejoice always. He urged the Thessalonians to rejoice. Thirty-four times in his epistles he mentions the word, rejoice. I think he was trying to say, “Relax folks, everything is going according to plan – God’s plan!” That didn’t mean he didn’t have tough words or strong discipline, it meant he would rather slap someone upside the head in love, than to allow them to become prey to the flesh or the devil.
Rejoicing is a mind-set. Rejoicing is accepting that everything no matter the difficulty is going just as planned and that our eternal future is secure. It means we joyfully know and accept that God is with us in the midst of the storms.
Psalm 124.1-8:
1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side — let Israel now say — 2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, 3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; 4 then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; 5 then over us would have gone the raging waters. 6 Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! 7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (ESV)
Rejoice!
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