Life can be hard.
Maybe you have been forsaken by your spouse. Or are struggling
with the death of a loved one. Or facing the constant pain of
disease. Or the loss of a job or business. Or, maybe just the
daily grind of life.
What can you do? You always have choices. You choose how you
respond. With God's help, you don't have to let the problems of
life defeat you.
A prophet named Habakkuk had the attitude we all need:
HABAKKUK 3:17-18 NIV
17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on
the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce
no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in
the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my
Savior.
Even if everything seems to go wrong, you can rejoice in the
Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever!
There is no darkness so dark that Jesus cannot overcome. There
is no situation that is hopeless. There is no problem too big
for God to fix.
When you face trouble in life, will you whine and complain, or
will you rejoice in God?
Maybe I should ask, "Would you prefer to get better or to get
worse?"
As you rejoice in the Lord, you will find strength to go on and
face life. God will give you strength to overcome.
We all face struggles in life. Focusing on God -- who has the
solution to every problem -- is a way out of the jaws of defeat
into glorious victory.
Whatever your struggle is, look to God. Rejoice in Him!
Don't let the devil steal your joy. Rejoice in the Lord!
PHILIPPIANS 4:4 NIV
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
PHILIPPIANS 4:4 NIV
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
No matter how bad things are around you, you can always rejoice in the Lord.
God is good -- even when circumstances are bad.
You can look beyond the temporary problems of life and focus on the Eternal God and His goodness. You can rejoice that God loves you and that you have a home in Heaven.
If you only rejoice when you feel like it -- and circumstances warrant it -- you may never rejoice much. But you will miss a lot of joy. For when you rejoice in the Lord and focus on Him, joy begins to flow out of your inner being and strengthens you.
This is God's answer for depression. Focus on God. Rejoice in Him, and receive the spiritual strength you need to carry on in victory.
HABAKKUK 3:18 NIV
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
"Yet I WILL." Whenever you decide to, you can rejoice. In spite of feelings and circumstances, you can choose to rejoice.
Rejoicing is subject to your will -- not your circumstances.
When can you rejoice? When should you rejoice?
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16 NASB
16 Rejoice always;
NEHEMIAH 8:10 NLT
10 . . . Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!"
I do not claim it is the only meaning, but one thing the Lord showed me from this verse is that our level of joy is like a thermometer revealing our spiritual strength. If our joy is low -- our spiritual strength is low. That is because the Lord is our strength, and in His presence there is fullness of joy.
PSALM 16:11 NKJ
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
So, if our joy is low, it means we have not been spending time in God's presence, receiving His strength and help. It means we have got our focus off God and onto something else.
(Although God is always with us, as we worship Him and praise Him and thank Him, God manifests His presence.)
Being gloomy is not a sign of being spiritual. God did not intend for His people to be downcast. Let the world be sad, we have something to rejoice about! Jesus! Heaven!
If you look at your circumstances you may not feel like rejoicing. But if you look at Jesus as He truly is -- you will not be able to keep from rejoicing in Him. Jesus is wonderful!
PHILIPPIANS 4:4 NLT
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again -- rejoice!
PHILIPPIANS 4:4 NKJ
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
At least five times the Bible tells the people of God to rejoice in the Lord.
We may not always be able to rejoice in other people, or in our circumstances.
People can be frustrating. People can be immature. People can be undependable. Need I go on?
But the Lord is different! God is dependable. God is faithful. God is honest. God is good. God is patient. God is kind. God is understanding. God is merciful and gracious.
MALACHI 3:6 NLT
6 "I am the LORD, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
When we focus on our circumstances, or on what people do, we can lose our joy quickly.
But with a true understanding of what God is really like, we cannot help but rejoice because of His goodness and greatness.
If you are not sure what God is really like, then look at Jesus Christ in the pages of the Four Gospels in the New Testament. Jesus Christ perfectly revealed to us what God is like.
