Indeed, the whole world can be falling down around us (and sometimes it is), but there is always a reason to rejoice in Jesus.
God isn't commanding us to be happy that we are going through hardship. He isn't saying, "I've given you what's good for you, and you'd better be grateful for it" like a stern parent making us swallow cod liver oil and say, "Thank you."
No! God loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son Jesus down to us. God Himself entered into our humanity and became subject to all the weaknesses of our flesh. He now can sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15) and identify with our struggles and sufferings.
And not only that, but He also carried our sorrows and our grief (Isaiah 53: 3-4). He went to the cross, became sin for us to give us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5: 21). Then He rose from the dead to justify us before God. Our sin was fully paid for, and the resurrection of Jesus shows that God accepted Jesus' sacrifice as payment in full. Now all who believe are justified from all sin. "Through Him, everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:39 BSB).
Today God looks at every believer through the righteousness of Jesus, and He sees you as “holy in his sight, without blemish, and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22b NIV). God sees you as perfect and holy as Jesus Christ Himself is. You, as a believer, are wearing His righteousness as a robe, and therefore, are accepted by God. “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness…” (Isaiah 61:10 NIV).
Jesus did all this for us because He loves us. He calls us to rejoice in Him, pray to Him and give thanks to Him because He loves us; and He knows this is the only way we can navigate the storms of this life safely.
These commands—rejoice in the Lord, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all things—are God calling us to be with Him.
God calls to you today as if He were saying, “Come to Me. In Me, you will find salvation, a reason for joy and gratitude, a listening ear, a loving heart, a kind and encouraging word, and sustaining power.”
Question 3. Are you rejoicing in the Lord today? Please share.
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