Rejoicing; I am happy when something good happens to my friends.
Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice.”
Rejoicing is a word we don’t use much more nowadays. We instead say words like, “celebrate,” “cheer,” and “party”. The problem with this is that our cheers and celebrations are dependent upon circumstances. A party has a starting point and an ending. We cheer during a football game, but cheering stops once the game is finished. Rejoicing is different. We hear, “joy,” when we say rejoicing, which tells us it means something more. To rejoice is to celebrate joy, and joy has no end for the Christian.
Why are Christians able to rejoice? It is all due to the hope and salvation we have in Jesus Christ. Even as we read this we can rejoice in knowing we have been forgiven for every sin and failure, and God’s Spirit is working in us to make us holy and good. Believers rejoice because the God who created all that is seen and unseen has taken notice of us and began a good work in us, and we know He will finish His work. Christ-followers have unending joy in their hearts because we are with God and He has promised to never leave us.
Challenge: This week, make it a point to speak words of rejoicing in front of your children. On the way to your Heritage campus, take a minute to lead the vehicle in telling God thank you for His love and kindness. If your child is having a hard time and is upset, hold them and comfort them, and then tell them that God loves them too and He is with them always. May God help us to rejoice in Him always and at all times, and may we be role-models of rejoicing for our children.
