In Philippians 4:4 NIV, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Paul writes to the church at Philippi, saying, Rejoice in the Lord always and I say again. Rejoice in the Lord. 

• It is hard to be joyful when someone falsely accuses you. 
• It is hard to be joyful when people mistreat you.
• It is hard to be joyful or rejoice in the Lord when you face trials of various kinds.

Often it’s, so easy to show our emotions than stay calm but the Bible tells us this, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Notice the phrase, “Rejoice always.” Perhaps this verse might have made more sense, if it said, “Rejoice in the Lord when you feel Good.” You’ll be like, Yea.! I can do that. No problem at all. But, it says, “Rejoice always!” We might wonder, How is that possible? How can I rejoice in the Lord always?

Paul is not ignorant

As Paul writes this, he is not ignorant of the reality you and I face. He knows all about it because He has faced his share of suffering. But he got through all that because he rejoiced in the Lord. And now he recommends that all of us rejoice in the Lord.

The question is, How can we Rejoice in the Lord at all times?

How can we rejoice in the Lord ?

1. Joy is NOT based on Circumstance.

The word rejoice comes from the Greek word, “χαίρω“

Chairo
Paul begins with this word, “Chairos,” which means, “Be glad, be full of “Cheer” and give a greeting. But it’s not easy to rejoice when there’s sadness or disappointment in our hearts. Here’s what the Bible says, Rejoice. What does it mean to rejoice ?

1. Be full of Cheer.
2. Be Glad
3. or to Give Greeting:

Background

As Paul writes this, He writes one of the greatest qualities of the Christian Life. The Quality here is, “Rejoice“. Being a Christian in the 1st Century AD wasn’t easy. The church faced persecution and loss of jobs and status in the society. After starting the church Paul soon left Philippi after he faced intense persecution, which fell on the church after his departure. Paul addresses this in Philippians 1:7 NIV, “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.”

Observe this,

1. Paul is not praying here that the persecution will stop: 
2. Nor is he saying, that by next year, your sorrows will turn to Joy.

Often, as Christians, we are so accustomed to praying that everything should be favorable. So we may decree and declare, peace and prosperity over our lives. Some, declare restoration over our lives like the many false teachers and apostles of the word of faith movement do. Perhaps, Paul could have written to them, “Hey, Good times are coming!. Don’t worry. God will destroy your enemies” instead he writes, “Rejoice.” That means,

• He says, Be Glad
• He says, Be happy
• He says, Greet everyone well.
• Be Calm.
• Be Cheerful

Even if it’s bad, Rejoice. Even if a knife is put to your throat rejoice.  Here’s why we must do that. Philippians 1:29 NIV, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him“. Suffering is good because it produces Godliness and faith in us. Honestly, I would rather have more Godliness in me, that will come as result of suffering. Than to have riches, that comes through a comfortable life.

I know, people who go through suffering for the sake of Jesus. and, I’ve witnessed them becoming more stronger in the suffering they face. They hold on to Christ more than ever during and after the suffering. Their faith becomes stronger than ever. 

Invitation to suffer

2 Timothy 2:3 NIV, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” An invitation to follow christ is also an invitation to suffer. But inspite of all that. The Goal of our Christian life, is to Rejoice. Paul writes this passage, and if you look at the context in which he writes, he is making a few points.

Here are the Points

• Joy is not based on the Circumstance 
• Joy is not based on how you feel 
• Joy is not based on how blessed you feel 
• Joy is not based on anything of that sort. 
• Joy is dependent on something more and beyond all these things: 

He is helping them understand something important, 

Yes, Rejoice. 

But I want you to know, that your Joy is not based on the Circumstances, but on the Lord. If you want to be joyful. Understand first, that your Joy is never based on the Circumstance. Your Joy should never be based on how you feel today. The Bible never teaches us to be joyful because God is going to do something amazing soon. That sort of a joy, will lead to more disappointments. We often tie our sense of joy to how successful our day was or what we managed to accomplish.

For me, I find that I’m happiest at the end of the day when I’ve worked to my satisfaction and achieved the goals I set. But when I fall short, I often feel terrible and frustrated.

As time goes on, I’ve realized that some days I may not accomplish much because perhaps God wants me to focus on something else. Since I often measure my day by what I achieve, I end up feeling unsatisfied and upset when things don’t go as planned. This mindset causes my joy to depend entirely on how “productive” my day is. But what we understand here, is that Joy is not based on what happened to us today. But beyond that.

Philippians 4:4, Let’s continue to read, Paul asks us to rejoice in something more than what we are going through, Paul is asking us to rejoice, in what,  “In the Lord”. Rejoice, not in the Circumstances but in the Lord.

2. Let your Joy be dependent on God Himself.

Joy should be fully dependent on Jesus. We often base on our joy on how much we have in the bank. Higher the Balance: More Joy. Lower the Balance: Lesser the Joy. When Paul says, Rejoice, He is not making it based on your circumstance but on Jesus himself. So, He used this Phrase “in the Lord.”

In the Lord

Philippians 3:1
Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

Philippians 4:2
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.

Paul tells Euodia and Syntche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Diverse people come together and have good relationships because they allegiance to one leader. Their loyalty to each other depends entirely on their loyalty to their leader. 

For instance, in a political party, if the leader breaks away then these diverse group of people also break away. Paul is trying to solve a dispute between two ladies. He is not saying, Listen, solve your differences and think positive about each other.  But he says, be of the same mind, “IN THE LORD” William Barclay, “Human fellowship is impossible without the lordship of Christ.”

Stand Firm

Philippians 4:1

1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

The word, “Stand firm” used is one that is used for soldiers standing firm in the onset of battle. Often, when are among a certain group of people, we relax our morals. We are not the same as the one we were in church. It becomes hard to resist wrong, and accept whatever comes our way. William Barlcay wrote, “Sometimes, when we look back and remember an occasion when we took the wrong turning or fell to temptation or shamed ourselves, we say wistfully, thinking of someone whom we love: ‘If only he, if only she had been there, it would never have happened.’”

It’s the similar expression that is shown here: In the Lord, Being in Him; Walking with Him; Having a relationship with Him. In those things we find our joy

How can we be in the Lord ?

John 15:10–11, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

This is the way to be in the Lord, i.e, living according to God’s commands, if we do then we are abiding in His Love. If we live according to God’s commands, then our soul will find it’s satisfaction in doing what he pleases. Then we will rejoice in Christ because we are in the Lord. But the moment you take your eyes off Christ, you will loose your joy.

Often, we think of Joy as an upbeat feeling. Genuine Christianity is not the power of positive thinking., Joy is not a bubbly, optimistic personality. Joy is not being happy because life is going your way. Jesus says in John 15:11, “…It is my Joy” The Joy that we receive, or the ability to be joyful in every circumstance, comes from Jesus himself. It comes because you obey him and are dependent on him. This is a Joy that we cannot generate by ourselves. Joy is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22 NIV) This is the Joy that cannot be put off by any circumstance. 

Prophet Hababkkuk writes in Habakkuk 3:17–18 NIV, Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

John Piper, “Genuine Christian joy is not the power of positive thinking.”