Rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again:

Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be evident to all.

Image text Philippians 4:4-5

As we approach the end of Philippians, we can summarise the book with a simple but powerful statement. Rejoice in the Lord, always!

As defined by the Cambridge dictionary, rejoice is "to feel or show great happiness about something." It's a verb, an action word that requires our active participation. It's not just a feeling; it's something we have to do. Joy is essentially the central theme of Philippians. Paul is joyful even in prison; he continues to explain the goodness of God and how, at times, it might not seem so, but he remains faithful. Because of this, we should have joy and, therefore, rejoice actively.

Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Reading verses 4 and 5 it sounds like gentleness flows from rejoicing, which is interesting. There is something about rejoicing that makes us gentle. It could be because when we rejoice in the Lord, we have made peace that we can never be in control of every situation. We have seen that God is faithful; therefore, we do not have to fear tomorrow. We begin to live a life with less stress and anxiety. We realise the importance of prayer and gratitude. In this acknowledgement that we cannot save ourselves, we embrace humility. We become gentle in spirit and have humility. We start to see that those around us are also sinners who need the love of God and that we are not better or more righteous than them. Instead, we follow in Jesus’ steps to show them kindness. The focus is not on us anymore but on God and others. From our rejoicing, we become gentle and we have reached spiritual maturity.

Philippians 4:8

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things.

Our spirits can only be gentle when we shift our focus from the negatives to the positives. Therefore, let's fix our thoughts on 'whatever is pure'. If something is noble, right, lovely, and admirable, let's dwell on such things, empowering our spirits. What we think about has an impact. Paul is showing us that we can take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to God, our light and “the way”, who can lead us to a peaceful state of mind.

If we can capture our thoughts, we can begin to live a more peaceful life. Not a life without struggles, but having a sense of peace amidst a storm. Our whole attitude will start to change, and we will naturally want to rejoice. Paul was not quiet while he was imprisoned. He continued to praise God and spread the Gospel. We can learn from Paul’s attitude. Instead of sulking when times are hard, we can remember God’s faithfulness and rejoice in who He is.

Joel 2:21

21 Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things!