"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!"(Philippians 4:4)
It may be, just possibly, one of the simplest, and yet, most difficult commands in all of Scripture. Why is that? Well, perhaps for a number of reasons. The old Scottish minister, Alexander MacLaren, once said that "to pursue joy is to lose it. The only way to get it is to follow steadily the path of duty, without thinking of joy." His point seems to be that joy itself is not to be the focus of our attention, but rather God. Joy is found in pursing God and seeking His face in the midst of faithful service and worship. Another obstacle to the discovery of joy may be our culture's all-absorbing interest in pleasures and amusements. C. S. Lewis warned that pleasures were not to be confused with or seen as substitutes for joy. But in truth, we tend to treat them as such, don't we?
Paul, in writing this letter to the church in Philippi, had several objectives in mind, one of which was to challenge them to consider JOY. Back in 3:1 he wrote (and I like the way the Life Application translation puts it) "Whatever happens, dear friends, may the Lord give you joy. I never get tired of telling you this. I am doing this for your own good." The Apostle believed joy to be an essential blessing and possession in the life of the believer, knowing that the life devoid of joy is one where God is not honored.
It may help us to take a look back at the Old Testament. The Hebrew verb to rejoice or to be joyful (samach) usually carried the idea of a spontaneous expression of emotion or extreme happiness. This rejoicing or being joyful certainly was experienced during the special days of festival or feasting, or on happy occasions such as a wedding or over a victory. It's easy to understand how these would be glad and joyful times. But the people of God were also exhorted "to be glad in the Lord and rejoice (samach) . . . shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart." (Psalm 32:11-12) It is this thought that the Apostle Paul seems to have in mind as he pens his letter, wanting the people of God to look beyond their difficulties unto our glorious God and to take joy in Him.
The first thing of which you and I should take notice here is that this is no mere suggestion, but a serious exhortation - a command. God is telling us what His Will is for us - that we should rejoice, take joy in Him. The old puritan commentator, Matthew Henry, agreed with this by saying: "All our joy must terminate in God; and our thoughts of God must be delightful thoughts. It is our duty and privilege to rejoice in God, and to rejoice in him always; at all times, in all conditions." This is not something on which you and I have a lot of wiggle room for as Chuck Swindoll puts it: "Rejoicing is clearly a spiritual command. To ignore it is disobedience."
But Matthew Henry was correct to remind us that being joyful is a privilege in that, as Christians, you and I have the honor of bearing witness to God and to His Son. Christ has left us in the world as lights and testimonies of His grace. Surely you can see how sending mixed signals might be counter productive to this mission. This provoked Martin Lloyd Jones, the great English preacher, to ask: "What credit to God is a miserable Christian? What credit to God and his great salvation in Christ are people who seem to be always apologizing for their faith?" He's right! What God desires are people who are filled with joy over what He has done for them, and are living out that joy before others.
How do we do that? Well, by remembering our God and His mighty deeds, especially those related to the salvation He has brought to us. Let me encourage you to take a few moments even now to reflect upon God's mercy (Ps 119:156) or His Goodness (Ps 31:19), His Greatness (Ps 145:3) or His Faithfulness (Ps 100:5). By pondering and reflecting on God's nature and His manifold gifts of grace, the believer finds cause to rejoice and take joy in the Lord. The harsh realities of this life come to be viewed in a different light when one's eyes are lifted off of circumstances and focused on a loving and unchangeable God.
Paul follows up this exhortation by acknowledging our human needs. But these, he writes, are to be brought to God, through prayer, trusting God's sufficiency to be greater than our need. He, then, urges us to concentrate on things that are good, lovely, honorable and true - to focus on these things rather than our problems. All of this is essential if we are to know true joy and for that joy to be a real part of our daily existence.
One last thought - almost a forgotten side product of genuine joy is that it creates within us a longing for more. C. S. Lewis said that it "reminds, beckons, awakens desire" and that "our best havings are wanting". Just a taste of joy in the Lord, stirs within us a thirst and a hunger to know God more fully, to see Him more clearly, and to experience Him in a deeper way, until our every conscious moment is given to a peace and a joy that boggles our imagination and mystifies our enemies. May God fill you this day with all joy!
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The Rev. Donald Caviness is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. He may be reached at athike1@yahoo.com.
