Rejoice! It's a command! (Part 1)

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." - Philippians 4:4


Again, another extremely difficult discipline to put into practice, but yet again, one that is absolutely essential for growth in the Christian life.

It is always hard to rejoice in hard times. For example, someone who falls into constant sexual sin will often fall into a prolonged state of despair, which can often be the worldly regret that 2 Corinthians 7 talks refers to. Learning to rejoice in these difficult times is something that the apostle Paul so masterfully described later on in that same letter. After praying to God to remove the "thorn" in Paul's flesh, Jesus replies:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I (Paul) will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10


This is a beautiful truth! We need to be content in our hardships, no matter what they are, because Christ covers us with a grace that exceeds all sin, enabling and empowering us to cling fast to the gospel of redemption through faith, by which we were made right with God purely by the merit of Christ. Our daily sin cannot revoke the invaluableness of Christ's blood, but rather helps us to realise our hopelessness in mortifying our sin with anything other than the gospel.

Join me next blog for something much more challenging, I find. Rejoicing in the Lord when things are going really well! Man, I can't wait!