REJOICE!
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4
The three distinguishing marks of every child of God
are joy, peace and righteousness. To rejoice
is to have a repeated experience of
joy. The joy of the Lord is one of our potent weapons against the enemy.
You have to note that the command here is to rejoice
in the Lord and not in yourself. You may be going through challenges and
pain but you are commanded to rejoice in the Lord not in yourself. This is not so easy all the time. Sometimes you don't feel
like rejoicing. This is why the Lord encourages us to forget the past and focus our mind on what He is going to do
for and with our lives. You must stop
entangling your mind with unpleasant situations, which Satan loves to
put before your mind's eye to take away your
joy.
One way to
activate joy in your heart is to practise the presence of God, keeping your mind stayed on His promises. When
you fill your mind with God and His Word,
He becomes so real to you. You experience
His presence and power in your life, which in turn fill you with joy and peace. What this joy of the Lord
does is prepare you for any attack on your life that Satan might devise. This
joy becomes your strength to
overcome all the challenges that will confront you throughout the day.
To have joy and to rejoice must
become a goal each day. You must make a quality decision every morning to
rejoice in the Lord. You must put behind you all the failures and disappointments of the past and look forward with thanksgiving and joyous
anticipation to the blessings and
opportunities ahead. Resolve to make the joy of the Lord your strength today.
Prayer: Bind and cast
out the spirit of heaviness and activate the joy of the Lord in
your heart.
Scriptural
Reading: Philippians
4:4-9
