Rejoice Anyway by Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4
Hardships often come in waves, and if we are not careful, they can take us down if we do not focus on the promises of God rather than our problems. Best-Selling Author Robert J. Morgan said, “Rejoice in the Lord, not in your load!” When Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” he was in chains, imprisoned in either Rome or Ephesus, and his fate was unsure. However, Paul trusted in God during the worst of times. If this scenario resulted in death, he was okay with that because he longed to leave the world and be with Christ (Phil 1:23). If he remained on the Earth for a while longer, he could continue to minister to, and encourage believers.
Paul believed that, ultimately, God would work good out of the bad (Rom 8:28) and that is a promise for all of us.
David embraced the same mindset while he was on the run from King Saul who sought to kill him. To seek refuge, he pretended to be insane in the land of Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. It was during that time, David proclaimed, “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.” The word “extol” means to “praise enthusiastically.” David was praising God and rejoicing enthusiastically despite his affliction and difficult situation.
What if we try to praise God despite our adversity? We can do that by infiltrating our homes with praise music. We can claim the Psalms aloud. We can make a declaration over our lives that we intend to rejoice, no matter how we feel, because we trust that God has a good plan for our lives. No matter what is going on, the LORD wants us to rejoice anyway—the ultimate act of trust.
When trials come, are you still able to be joyful?
Heavenly Father, it is difficult to praise you when I am going through a difficult season, but I ask that you provide the ability to rejoice anyway. AMEN.