Rejoicing in God: What it really means

 Happy Sunday!

Trust you have been keeping up with God and life as beautifully as you can. I also trust that you went to church today! 

What does rejoicing in God really mean?

First, let's take a look at the word, 'Rejoice'. It simply means to be very happy, to feel joy. Rejoicing is an expression of inner joy and happiness. It is a state of exultation, and immense delight.

Recently, it struck me. That the joy and happiness the Bible has required from us is not 'in us', but 'in God'.

Phillipians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always!

 

Psalm 32:11

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice! 

I can go on and on! However, the take home point is: We can't REJOICE when we look at ourselves. 

Look at all of these flaws, and the complete representation of imperfection that we are. 

Look at all of the issues that depress us, the insane amount of worry that the society offers. 

Look at your material possessions that may seem to make you happy in a moment but gone the next.

But GOD. See the One so perfect, complete, incredibly merciful, loving, giving, holy, pure yet compassionate. Little wonder, we are complete only in Him.

Also, as an aside, the weapons of our warfare are mighty only through God!

By ourselves, we are nothing but compartments of vanity. 

Is Rejoicing in God the same as being in denial?

We can rejoice in God during the good and the bad times, through the beautiful and the ugly. We rejoice whether we get that promotion or not. We rejoice whether the situation seems favourable or not. We rejoice through storms and calms. We rejoice through the peace. Through the process of becoming, we rejoice.

We are not expected to 'fake it'. It is that we are expected to come into a place. The Joy of the Lord is a Place! This is where we come into when we rejoice in God. We do not deny the existence of our problems. But that we acknowledge the magnitude of God's presence compared to those problems.

This is because our God is perfect and every good and perfect gift comes from Him. He also makes everything work together for our good.

My Resolution (Could be yours too!)

I have decided. My mind is made up. I choose to rejoice in Him, not because I have it all, but because He is All.

P.s. I have lived long enough to know that I cannot survive outside my identity in Christ. 💛

Love,

Have a joyful week!