Again I Will Say, Rejoice! (by Cathe Laurie)

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4 ESV).

Maybe it was the heavy fog that settled in overnight. Maybe it was the supermoon’s effect on my sleep. Maybe it was that only a few people showed up for my small group. Or maybe it was the never-ending barrage of political forecasts and subsequent conversations that made our future as a country seem as gloomy as the weather.

Whatever it was. . . something made me feel weary and sad.

Breaking Down Philippians 4:4

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4 ESV).

This verse is a real all-timer, one that gets quoted in a multitude of situations. I’ve highlighted and underlined it in my Bible. I’ve read it a thousand times, memorized it long ago, and even quoted it more times than I can count. But I really needed to hear it again. 

You see, it wasn’t only that the Philippians were having a bad day; that would be one thing. But the situation Paul was facing when he wrote this was full of mess. It would be hard for one of us to even pinpoint a positive part of his life at that point.

As he writes to the church in Philippi, he’s sitting in chains in a Roman prison, condemned to death, and nothing he can say will change that. Even the generous donation the Philippians sent him won’t mitigate his sentence.

But Paul says again: Rejoice.

The cheap version of this is to pretend it’s all fine: I’ve got Jesus, so nothing hurts. But Paul is living out almost the opposite: Everything hurts, but I’ve got Jesus.

Paul provides a list of some excellent things to rejoice in: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of commendable. . . think about these things” (Philippians 4:8 ESV).

The verb at the end of the verse changes throughout the translations, but the original Greek word logizesthai means to think continually, to contemplate, and to implant them in your heart. One of my favorite translations of the word is “dwell.”

Paul is telling the Philippians to count their blessings and live in that space of gratitude and praise. To dwell in the promises of the Lord and His great love for us.

The Choice We Make

Friends, our minds will find something to focus on. Either we can be consumed by the evil, the anxiety, the mess of it all, or we can rejoice in what is positive and what God has promised to us.

So, on those days when we feel the aches and hurts deeply, we must focus our hearts on things and see how beautiful they’re supposed to be. How beautiful they will be, one day. God knows evil is real enough—so real you can stew in it if you choose, fondling your hurts and wallowing in misery. That void will suck you in deep if you let it. OR you can take hold of your mind, turning it instead to the goodness of God.

Will you dwell on the darkness you see, or will you choose to think continually on good and establish your heart firmly in the Lord?

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Cathe Laurie is the founder and director of the Virtue women’s ministry. She is also a featured speaker on The Virtue Podcast, at Harvest events, and the author of As I See It. You can find her weekly articles here on harvest.org.