Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!
As believers did you know that giving thanks to God is one of the most powerful things we can do. The Lord works mightily through the praises of His children. This is because when we tell our Father how much we love and appreciate Him, we acknowledge our dependency upon His provision and strength. And that’s exactly the attitude necessary for Him to exhibit His power through us.
For example, Paul and Silas who were imprisoned in a Philippians jail (Acts 16:16-34). Beaten and imprisoned unjustly, they began praying and singing hymns to the God. And God responded to their thanksgiving by sending an earthquake to shake the prison doors open. The keeper of the prison, was so moved by the Lord’s powerful deliverance, that he and his household believed and accepted Jesus as Savior (Acts 16:27).
It was to that group of prisoners -to eyewitnesses of such a miracle at the Philippians prison – that Paul would write, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” And the people knew the truth of his instruction because they’d seen how God worked mightily through prayer and praise.
It seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to rejoice. But Paul’s attitude teaches us an important life lesson: Our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. Paul was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him, Jesus Christ was with him. Several times in this letter Paul urged the Philippians to be joyful, probably because they needed to hear this. It is easy to get discouraged about unpleasant circumstances or to take unimportant events too seriously.
So it, is with us today.. we have much to Praise God for. Let’s start with His Word, (Matthew 13:20); His Birth. (Luke 8:13). His Miracles, (Luke 13:17); His Suffering,(1 Peter 4:13), His Resurrection. ( Matthew 28:8; Luke 24; John 16 ); His Gospel, ( Acts 20; 3 John 1:3, 4 Philippians 1:18;2 ). His Forgiveness: Matthew 18:13; Luke 15:6-10; 2 Corinthians 7:9). His Spirit: (Romans 14:17; Galatians 5;22,23; 1 Thessalonians 1:6 ). His glory: ( Romans 5:1,2). To name a few.
If you haven’t been joyful lately, you may not be looking at life from the right perspective. It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day mundane routine. Stop and reflect upon who you are in Christ Jesus.
Be Encouraged Today!
As you keep an attitude of gratitude, For Great things He has done. Paul went as far as to say to Live is Christ. To die is gain. Can you say the same? (Philippians 1:21)
