The word “rejoice” appears 430 times in the Bible; Paul uses that word nine times in Philippians alone. Rejoice means to show joy or delight, and the God of the Heavens and Earth tells us in this verse above that He desires us all to rejoice not only when life is great, not only when we have the time or energy to show it, but to rejoice always. Why is it so difficult to always rejoice? Did God give us an impossible task?
Always rejoicing is not faking it until you make it or hiding your feelings; rather, rejoicing is the response to acknowledging God’s grace in your life at that moment. This is how Paul was able to be in prison while remaining content and having great strength. How many times a day do you sit and list out a few ways God has shown you grace today? We love to pray and ask, but we move on to the next thing when a prayer is answered.
Now, I will not lie; choosing to rejoice amid the trial can be difficult if that is a new response you want to start doing in your life, but luckily, Paul pairs rejoicing here with prayer. Paul says to pray without ceasing. When I have a conversation with my wife, it is not just a one-minute conversation before bed but rather when I am in the car with her, cooking meals and working on my student ministry work. What would our relationship with Jesus be like if we had a ton of quick conversations with Him throughout our day rather than a scheduled one minute meeting before bed?
Right now, let’s start this habit of always rejoicing. I am thankful I woke up today, that I have a family, and that I don’t have to question where my next meal will come from. Thank you, God, for the simple gift of being able to breathe on my own and live a life full of countless blessings.