“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 ESV
The apostle Paul is calling us to the delightful duty of finding our true joy in the Lord. He is calling us to the single most important goal of the Christian life: the pursuit of our happiness in God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism in its very first line spells it out: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy (by enjoying) Him forever.” God is most greatly glorified when we find our eternal happiness in Him! The reason that I say this is because there is no greater way to glorify God than to root in Him the happiness that my soul so desperately craves.
This joy is so important to Paul and so important to what it means to be a Christian that in our text Paul repeats himself, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.” That’s two commands: rejoice, rejoice. Do you know of any other place in Scripture where a command is repeated back to back like this? I don’t. Spurgeon said, “We are to joy, and then we are to re-joy. Joy is a delightful thing. You cannot be too happy, brother! ”
When Paul tells us to rejoice he is not giving us a suggestion or recommendation. He says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." This command is similar to 1 Thessalonians 5:16: “Be joyful always.” This is a command sent down from the throne of God Almighty to us. Do you see how radical this is? It is a present, keep on rejoicing. It is all encompassing, always. This little word “always” takes this command to a whole new level: at all times, in all circumstances, even when we are suffering or afflicted. It is active, you are to do this; it is imperative, this isn’t an option for God’s people; it is in the 2nd person, you, not someone else; and plural, all of us! We don’t have to pray about this. Lord, should I rejoice today?
How can we rejoice at all times and in everything? First we need to see that…
Commands to Rejoice Are All Over the Bible-
Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”
Matthew 5:12, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven."
1 Thessalonians 5:16, "Rejoice always!"
1 Peter 4;13, "Rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings."
Romans 12:12,15, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer…Rejoice with those who rejoice”
C.S. Lewis understood these commands to be happy in God and said, "It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can."
How can we possibly do this?
The command to rejoice has reasons behind it.
1. First, because we ought to have it.
God is infinitely worthy of our delight. God made us to be joyful, to find our joy in Him. Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” The root of joy is the presence of God. It is the supreme pleasure for which you were created.
Jonathan Edwards wrote: ‘How good is God, that he has created man for this very end, to make him happy in the enjoyment of himself, the Almighty
2.Secondly, because the only thing standing between the command of God to rejoice and our experience of that joy is a sinful heart, a bored heart, a heart that delights more in the things of the world than in God Himself.
This demand that we rejoice is not marginal or superfluous. It is a shocking wake up call to all who find their happiness in the wrong places. Paul’s solution to low level, superficial joy is that we be mastered by joy in a new reality: the Lord! Paul says the root of joy is in the Lord. My joy isn’t in me, it isn’t in things, people, or this world, nor is it in my efforts to be joyful, my joy is in Him! Paul is not preaching a health, wealth, and prosperity. It is joy in the Lord—who He is, His love, His power, His wisdom, His grace, mercy, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. So immerse yourself in His blessings. Bathe yourself in His presence. Posture yourself to hear His voice and see His face and hear His word and taste His goodness and feel His presence. Relocate your joy in Jesus Christ and satiate yourself in all God has for you in Him! Rejoice in the Lord!
The only way to overcome our enjoyment of sin is with our enjoyment of God. We minimize our delight in the pleasures of the flesh by maximizing our delight in the pleasures of our creator! Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! The joyful life that Paul demands is for us to be glued to the Lord.
3. Thirdly, because we can obey this command. Joy is a duty and a privilege, but joy is also a gift! As we saw earlier, it is supernatural not natural. It is doable. It our duty to be happy in Him and we can be happy in Him! If joy is supernatural not natural, if joy is a demand of God and our duty is to rejoice in Him, then the Lord will give us grace of joy to rejoice in Him! “You have put gladness in my heart.” (Psalm 4:7) “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
Here is how it works: We are commanded to rejoice in the Lord, and we cannot obey it because of our sin rooted willful, foolish, misplaced, and corrupted joy. So we have a serious problem. We must delight in the Lord. We must rejoice in the Lord always. And we can’t. This is a heart that loves and delights in God! This is where a huge disconnect happens with many Christians. We need a new heart that only Jesus Christ can give. We are thrown back utterly to Jesus. Jesus said that he wanted to have his joy fulfilled in his disciples "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11; read also 17:13).
Jesus told us that he wanted our joy to be full. In other words, he has not come to take away our joy, but rather to give us joy. Holy joy is the joy of heaven, and that, you can be sure, is the very finest of joy. Joy in Jesus Christ! It is His grace, because the best thing he has to give us is His joy. Christ not only offers himself as the divine object of my joy, but pours His capacity for joy into me, so that I can enjoy Him with the very joy of God.
May His joy abide in us, that our joy may be full. If that happens than we will experience what Habakkuk experienced in Habakkuk 3:17-18,
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail, And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, And there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult (jump for joy) in the LORD, I will rejoice (gheel – spin around, be joyful) in the God of my salvation.”
PRAYER
Oh Jesus, how our hearts soar with inexpressible joy and full of glory. Thank You that You offer a happiness that can come in the midst of our tears, our failures, our inadequacies, and our brokenness. Oh God let us know and experience in a deeper sense the promises of happiness that You can offer. Please make the feast of happiness flourish in our lives. Cause us to stop seeking happiness from this world and the things of this world. Waken us from the lies, the deceptions, and the illusions, that we can find heaven on earth. Instead, let Your precious Kingdom come down from heaven into our hearts and minds and let Your Word be fulfilled “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” Let those who have not tasted Your happiness see Your light of joy in us and may that joy drive them to You the Happy God, full of inexpressible joy and glory. May You dwell in our hearts so that we may experience from glory to glory the promises You offer us on earth and may we savor the future hope that someday we will see You and enjoy them in their fullness forever and ever. Amen
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