“And in This I Rejoice”

by Mitchell Tan
August 02, 2018

AN ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND JOY

What is joy? It has the idea of having feelings of gladness. And yet, there is more to it than just a feeling. To attempt to understand joy, it would be good to look at the Psalmist in how he saw joy. He found joy in the following ways:

1. RECEIVING JOY FROM THE LORD IN TIMES OF DISTRESS

“You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.”
Psalm 4:7

The source of joy is from the Lord. He was the One who placed a sense of gladness in the heart of the Psalmist that was greater than the joy that came from having a bumper crop season. He was able to find this joy even though he was going through a time of distress.

2. REJOICING WHEN WE TRUST IN THE LORD

“But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You”
Psalm 5:11

Joy would also come when we learn to fully trust in the Lord for all things. When we trust in the Lord, we stop worrying about our problems. Trust will aid us to rejoice.

3. MAINTAINING JOYFULNESS IN THE LORD

“Let them ever shout for joy because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.”
Psalm 5:11

When the Lord hears our prayers and protects us, we can have increasing joy. Those who love the Lord’s name will continue to be joyful in Him. The result of having faith and trusting in the Lord is joyfulness.

And yet, when the Psalmist wrote Psalm 6 as he went through further challenges, there was a loss of joy. One moment, we can be joyful in the Lord. The next moment, it can be lost. Let’s seek to look out for this and seek to maintain our joy in the Lord.

PAUL’S CHOSEN RESPONSE OF JOY

One person who was able to maintain that joy in the Lord was the apostle Paul. He sought to practise a response of joy.

1. CHOOSING TO REJOICE IN CHRIST

“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice”
Philippians 1:18

Instead of grumbling, Paul chose to rejoice in the Lord. There were those who preached Christ for the wrong reasons. They preached Christ out of envy and strife. They did this in pretense so as to add afflictions to Paul. There were also those who preached the gospel in truth and in sincerity. They were joining Paul in his great endeavour to share the gospel. The good apostle had only one focus. His main concern was that Christ was preached. He chose to rejoice in this. Joy was a chosen response of faith despite persecutions and being in prison. Young people, we too can choose our response when it comes to facing the problems of life. We could either grumble or we could choose joy. Let’s seek to choose joy.

2. CONTINUING TO REJOICE IN CHRIST

“And in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.”
Philippians 1:18

The word “rejoice” is in the present tense. It is something that Paul sought to do on a daily basis. He continuously chose to rejoice in the Lord. This was something that flowed from his life.

A. MATURITY

Paul was able to choose continually to rejoice because he had a maturity of faith. He had a depth of knowledge of the Lord Jesus. He had a deep relationship with Him. This maturity of faith helped him to choose to rejoice always in the Lord.

B. CHARACTER

Joy was also part of a developed character. Paul was once a person filled with so much anger and hatred. But the Lord had transformed him. Joy was now part of his character.

C. FRUIT

Joy became a fruit in Paul’s life too. It was a work of the Holy Spirit. As he walked with the Lord, the Spirit of God worked further in his life. Young people, let’s also seek to practise joy as a response of faith. Let’s learn to relate to the Spirit of God that we may rejoice always in whatever challenges we may face.

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