Rejoice

Rejoice
Feb 4, 2013
2 Cor 6:8-10  "We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing..."

Rejoice. It is easy to say or read the word "rejoice" but it is hard to understand in today's language.  Rejoicing was something Biblical characters understood, even lived out in their daily lives, but it gets lost on us today.  We equate rejoicing with being happy, but they are not the same.  Rejoicing is an action whereas happiness is a state of being or state of contentment.  Very few of us rejoice.  Imagine your favorite sports team scoring the winning goal after an intense game.  Your arms raise in the air, you stand to your feet, and shout with excitement.  That is rejoicing.  Or imagine someone showing up to your front door with a very large amount of cash, maybe two years' salary.  You would jump up and down with excitement.  That is rejoicing.  It is a physical and outward manifestation of an inward response to something.

If you look back through the Bible, the Old Testament is full of rejoicing, physical demonstrations of joy.  The Children of the Lord were instructed to rejoice, to outwardly demonstrate in response to what the Lord had done in their lives.  The Lord even told them to hold festivals and celebrations, being sure to rejoice for the reason of the occasion.  However, the modern day church fails to continue these practices; it fails at being glad for what the Lord has done in the past and in the present.  It fails at getting excited about the future.  There is limited outward manifestations of rejoicing in our lives today.  While some of it is a cultural issue (reserved or inhibited societal trends), some of it is a permission issue.  We don't feel we have permission or reason to rejoice.  We think that if there are negative circumstances in our lives, then we have no reason to rejoice.  This could not be further from the truth.

The Lord has done wonderful things in your life, in the past and in the present, despite the presence of a few dark rain clouds.  The Lord has saved your soul from the pit of Hell, the Lord has brought you out of past dreadful situations, the Lord has kept you from falling into harm many times over.  Yet, you fail to rejoice.  We all fail to rejoice.  The Lord would say that no matter what, we have a reason to rejoice, knowing we have a full reward in Heaven someday for what we are experiencing right now.  But even still, in the present there are things to rejoice over.  This isn't just being thankful, it is rejoicing over the good things that you DO have in your life, a physical demonstration or expression of joy overflowing from your heart.

It is not just a recommendation but a directive to rejoice.  You have it in you; it is welling up inside of you even now.  Only don't suppress it or squelch it.  It is appropriate to show you are glad for the things the Lord has done for you.  Don't feel guilty about letting it out.  Don't let someone else's dismay keep you from showing that you are excited.  The Lord has done great things in your life and you need to let it out; others need to know about it.  Declare what the Lord has done for you by rejoicing.  It brings glory and honor to Him who sits on the throne of your life.  Raise your arms in excitment.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:   Deut 27:7, 1 Kings 1:40, 1 Chron 15:25, 2 Chron 30:21, Ps 19:5, Ps 30:5, Ps 105:43, Jer 30:19, Acts 5:41, Gal 4:27, Phil 4:4-9, 1 Thes 5:16, 1 Peter 1:8