“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4
Sometimes life serves us up some unpleasant things; we are serving the Lord with our whole hearts and yet a terrible thing occurs. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi, the Church was much hated and its members seen as traitors. They were under tremendous pressure: people did not want to trade with them and they were feeling the weight of all that was going on, yet Paul told them to rejoice. They came to a place where they had to trade with each other and to do business with each other, but they did not have a lot of money coming in.
You need something that can sustain you and now more so than ever. The Church needs the joy of the Lord and we cannot allow what is going on around us, whether at home or work, to overwhelm us. Rejoicing does something to us on the inside that can affect us on the outside. The trials can hit us very hard especially because we are Christians. Joy means that we have strength while we are going through the trial.
Rejoicing is a spiritual weapon against the enemy. It imparts spiritual ability to assist us in dealing with the onslaught of the enemy. It is also a choice. You rejoice in the midst of the pressure. If things are going wrong today, begin to rejoice. It serves the enemy a serious blow. Joy is a strong spiritual weapon that fights off what is going on in our minds. The mind is what the enemy likes to play with the most
When we rejoice, it focuses us on God. Gloom makes us focus on what is going on around us. Rejoicing takes the focus off of what is going on around us and we begin to say “The joy of the Lord is my strength!” We do not have to pretend that we are not sad, but as we focus on God, we begin to rejoice.
Rejoicing is a vital part of worship. We must not see it as something separate and distinct from worship. We must not believe that there is a distinction between praise and worship. Rejoicing is a part of worship. Rejoicing involves singing, playing music and dancing. When the disciples returned and told Jesus that even the demons were rebuked at the mention of His name, He rejoiced.
Rejoicing refreshes us. In this Christian walk, it is not about what we feel; it is about what is required of us. We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can shift our focus and rejoice in the Lord (Psalms 33:1-5). Fig trees in Habakkuk 3:17-19 represents the business and the fruit, the economy. Though things were down, Habakkuk chose to rejoice. When the situation grips us, we may weep, but soon we will start rejoicing (Psalms 30:5).
“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.” Psalm 95:1
Psalm 100 carries the idea of joyfully thanking God. Rejoicing is a critical part of our individual and corporate worship. We do not know with what sad hearts people come into church. A U.S. survey showed that the majority of people come to church upset perhaps because a spouse or child made them late. People leave home in depressing situations, but when the Church worships, it gives them the opportunity to be lifted in their spirits. Rejoicing can lift the entire Church and by entering His courts with thanksgiving and His courts with jubilation, it gives God an opportunity to move.
Sometimes it is necessary as worship leaders to have a strong sense of discernment. The duty of a worship leader is to lead others and not just him or herself into a place of refreshing and joy in the Lord.
If you are set back while leaving home for church, begin to rejoice on your way and thus build yourself up in the Lord.
