Rejoice in the Lord Always – Good Times or Bad

(Philippians 4:4-5)

Rejoice in the Lord always. So what does that mean? Should we be partying all the time in the Lord? Look at what the scripture says:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. (Philippians 4:4-5)

No of course not. But in all things we should take the time to praise and give thanks to the Lord for what He has done and is doing for us.

And to rejoice in the Lord is even more than that. So let’s explore a little more about what it means to rejoice in the Lord always. And in particular let’s consider how to rejoice in the Lord when things are going bad.

What does Rejoice mean?

The Greek word translated into English as “rejoice” is “chairo”. What it means is to be full of cheer that is calmly happy or well off. It could be translated as a salutation to “be well” or to “be glad”.

These meanings don’t promote a partying attitude. They speak of calm happiness and joy that is not filled with excess.

So to rejoice in the Lord always is to be happy and joyful but with a peace and calmness. This rejoicing goes deep and is not something necessarily shown on the surface. It is a quiet joy that knows the good of the Lord and that He is in control in all things.

And knowing this we can be joyful because we have no need to fear.

Rejoice in the Lord Always – In Good Times

It’s easy to rejoice and be happy when things are going well. When all is well in our lives there are no barriers to joy or comfort and so we can rejoice.

But too often we forget that there is a need to rejoice in the Lord. We may forget to go to Him to say “thank you” for the peace and security He gives.

This is not uncommon for Christians. So we need to think about our situation in the good times. We need to stop and recall all the good the Lord is doing for us and simply thank Him in prayer for His provision.

When we give thanks like this we are praising the Lord and offering Him the fruits of praise from our lips. And this is a good thing because it stops us become complacent, or worse. When times are good and everything is going our way, we can become proud and arrogant. We may think that it is our doing rather than a blessing from the Lord.

So it is especially good to give Him thanks for what He does for us in good times. And by so doing we will rejoice in the Lord.

Rejoice in the Lord Always – In Bad Times

But what about those times when everything is going wrong? The scripture tells us to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, which means good times AND bad. How are we supposed to rejoice when it feels like our world is falling apart?

Probably the best example we can look at is Job.

If anyone had reason to fall apart and get depressed it was Job. Given all of the troubles that came upon him, no one would blame him for getting upset, angry and depressed. But what did he do? Let’s have a look at the scriptures.

After his children had all been killed, his cattle and livestock were all taken and he essentially a broken man, he said:

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. (Job 1:21-22)

But as if that wasn’t bad enough, the devil was permitted to inflict Job with painful sores. He was afflicted in his body as well as all parts of his life. Most people would have sought death at that point, but not Job. And even his wife told him to curse God and die. But what was Job’s response?

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10)

And this is where we see the power of being able to rejoice in the Lord always come into play.

Sure, Job was in all kinds of pain and affliction, but he held firm his trust and his love for God. Job knew that God is the giver of all things and that if it is God’s will, He may take all things away as well. Job recognised that what he had was only what the Lord had permitted him to have, and Job treated his great wealth as a steward. A steward of the gifts God had given to him.

Job recognised that life consisted of both good and evil. We receive good things in their time and we receive evil things at other times.

He also understood the testing of the Lord, how the Lord tests His people.

And so in all of Job’s trials and tribulations, he remembered a God who is good and who would sustain him to the end. He did not blame God for the ill that had come into his life because his joy in the Lord was deep. It was a deep calm and a deep peace that can only come from God. And in this state of calm, he did not reject God but accepted that whatever happened in his life, God was in charge.

Rejoice in the Lord Always

And so too we should seek and find this deep calm and happiness in the Lord within ourselves. The Lord promises to give us a peace that surpasses all understand, and He does. It is up to us to allow His peace to take root in us so that we can rejoice in the Lord always, whether good times or bad.

In the bad times we need to pray and praise the Lord for all He is doing in us. We need to thank Him knowing that He has promised we will not be tempted and tested beyond our strength. (See: (1 Corinthians 10:13)

And when we pray in bad times, praising the Lord for ALL of the good things He has provided and that He will provide in the future, we are rejoicing in the Lord always. Through prayer we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. And we must remember no matter what is happening now, the Lord has it all in control and He will bring His plan for us to fruition.

All things in this world, whether good or bad, will pass. But the Lord remains a solid foundation and Rock of salvation forever. So let us not lose heart when things are bad. And let us not forget the blessings of the Lord when things are good. In all things let us instead rejoice in the Lord always.

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