Breakfast: Rejoice!

By Hillary Mortensen

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4

The message may seem redundant, but Paul was not shy in repeating himself. He knew as well as we know that any message worth sharing bears repeating and that we as humans tend to be slow to learn. (How thankful we should be, then, that God is patient with us!)

The Greek word translated "to rejoice," is the word chairo. Chairo is a verb; to be cheerful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off. In other passages, it is translated into words such as be glad and joy, but "to rejoice" is its most frequent translation. The Bible lists a number of reasons or occasions for rejoicing. In this case, the occasion is "in the Lord."

How can we experience this lasting, abiding, "always" sort of joy?

It is the joy that comes from a personal, living, and fruitful relationship with God. It is in this relationship that we experience peace with God (Romans 5:2), help in temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13), and assurance of God's presence in times of trial (Hebrews 13:5-6).

We are hindered from this relationship when we dwell on present failures or past sin (Philippians 3:12-14), allow a natural temperament or disposition to manifest instead of being supernaturally transformed into joy (Romans 12:1-2), or are overcome by difficult circumstances.

Indeed, we have all come together today, reading this blog, praying these prayers, fasting from food, because of a difficult circumstance. We continue to pray for Adam, wife of Amy Root, son of Jack and Cookie Root, for complete healing following his motocross accident in May. But let's continue throughout our day with the perspective offered in James 1:2-4:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Let us take this day to rejoice in the Lord, not because we are insensitive to its harsh realities, but because we will not allow the dark realities blind us to the radiance of joy that is found in the Lord. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to submit in obedience to God's will and gain the necessary perspective to rejoice in the Lord always!

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8,9