Jim is going through some tough times. Growing up, he fell into a bad crowd, and long story short, he ended up becoming addicted to some drugs. After attending rehab for two months, when released, he falls into temptation, and goes back to using. His mother, Jill, found him in his room with them, and yells out in frustration, “Why can’t you just stop? It can’t be that hard after rehab!” Angry, Jim responds, “That’s easy for you to say, you don’t have this addiction!” Or consider the plight of Amy, a single woman, who longs to be married and to have children. Currently, she is single, and is having a hard time finding Mr. Right. When pouring her heart out to her friend, her friend comforts her by saying, “Don’t worry, you’ll find him soon enough. It will be all good.” Frustrated, Amy tearfully responds, “That is easy for you to say! You have a husband and three kids!” With that, she storms out of the room. That’s easy for you to say. It is a phrase of frustration and hurt. It is a phrase uttered in time of trouble. It is the phrase said to someone whose situation is the opposite of yours. Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!” It is easy to say that when times are good. It is another thing to say it when times are rough. As we hear this verse this evening, we may be tempted to say, “Well, Paul, that is easy for you say! You aren’t in my situation! How can I rejoice?”
Is it really easy for Paul to say, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Let’s take a look at Paul’s own life as he writes this verse and letter to the Philippians. As he pens this, he is sitting in a dank, dark prison cell. Things aren’t going so great. He is dealing with the stresses and struggles of prison, on top of dealing with the pressures and worries of watching over the various churches, like the ones in Corinth, Thessalonica, or Ephesus. This isn’t including the problems that he is dealing with in Philippi. In chapter three, he expresses worry over false teaching in their midst. At the beginning of chapter four, he is dealing with a feud between Euodia and Syntyche. On top of it all, he is working in a context and place that is hostile to Christianity. The point being: Paul is not writing when everything is all good. He isn’t writing after he has had a mountain top experience, but rather when his life is full of challenges. However, despite the hardships, he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always!”
Paul’s call to joy is helpful and brings up two important questions for us Christians: Where do we ultimately find our joy and what affects it? We can find joy in our hobbies, like reading or gardening. We can have joy in following our favorite sports teams like the Twins or Blackhawks. We might find that special joy in a person, whether it be a spouse, child, grandchild, friend, or relative. It is in things and people like these that we go to in trouble, and to find our ultimate fulfillment in life. Honestly speaking, it seems that we don’t have joy in our Lord like we do in these other things.
And if that is not enough, our lives also teach us about the real nature of joy, and what truly affects it. Consider this story. Steve wakes up in the morning to find out that his fantasy football team pulled out the win after Monday Night Football, and he is now in first place. He is riding high from excitement. However, his day takes a turn for the worse as he goes out to his new car at lunch, the one that he hasn’t even made a payment on yet, to find that its back bumper is severely cracked from someone backing into it. He is fuming and devastated. When he grumpily goes back to work he finds out that afternoon that the company gave him a $3,000 Christmas bonus, and he is ecstatic and happy again. His smile goes from ear to ear. When Steve finally makes it home, his wife alerts them their heater is broken, and that it is supposed to become below zero during the evening. He is stressed beyond belief.
Steve’s story shows that our happiness can depend on our circumstances in life. Although Steve had some great things happen to him, his joy disappeared when tragedy entered in. His story also points out that our joy can be reactionary and dependent on things outside of our control. Our joy can be sensual, being dependent upon things that are experienced, like winning the football game. It can also be dependent on us, and how we take situations and events. And as we saw, his joy isn’t lasting.
Steve’s reactions are quite normal and relatable though. It is not always easy to have joy when our bank account is lower than what it should be and we have some expensive and unexpected bills coming our way. It is not easy to have joy when we may feel distant from our Lord in our faith life, or distant from others. It is a challenge to have it when nothing seems to be going right, and when you have those moments when all you want to do is to go home and crawl into bed. Sometimes to rejoice always is easier said than done. It can easy for you to say Paul.
But Paul says it is easy for us with a God like ours. Paul says rejoice in the Lord, always. Did you catch that little preposition? It is key to the whole sermon, and to Paul’s point. He says, “Rejoice in the Lord.” Our Lord is the One that we can find our joy in, and can always have joy in. We can have joy in the One Who has died for us and forgiven us despite us putting other things and people before Him. We can have joy in the One Who loves us, cares for us, guides us, and provides for us, even when we don’t deserve it! We can have joy in the One Who watches over us and is with us, both in the good times and in the bad. We can have joy in what our Savior gives us through our baptism and His Supper: new life, salvation, mercy, and grace. Because of these things, we can always rejoice in our Lord, and have a true and lasting joy in Him, even when things are not going well. Our joy can be in the Lord, and we truly can rejoice in Him whatever the circumstance might be. This joy in Christ is a true joy, and is not one based on our circumstances, things we can control, or what we may experience. It is based on our faithful Lord and His promises. That is why Paul repeats himself. He says, “again I will say, Rejoice!” We can always have joy in Him because of His grace and goodness to us. He gives us joy and is our lasting joy. In Christ, we always have something to rejoice about: Him!
As a result of this joy and faith in our Lord and His gifts, we see our life changes. Paul says, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone”. Paul says that when our joy is in Him, we can show our reasonableness. The Greek word for reasonableness means more than just that. It also means “moderation, forbearance, gentleness, patience, selflessness, and mildness.” Since our joy is in the Lord, we can show these qualities in the face of financial difficulties, random problems, and ailments because our joy is not rooted in the things of this world, but in Him. These things flow from the joy of faith.
We can also have joy because “The Lord is at hand.” He is near to help us, to give us patience, wisdom, strength, and grace. Since our God is close at hand, we do not have to be anxious about anything, “but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” We can bring our requests, both big and small, to Him, since He is our Father through faith in Jesus. We don’t have to be anxious because we can leave all matters to God’s fatherly direction and care. Thanksgiving can be in our prayers and lives because with Jesus, we are never without specific reasons for being able to give thanks.
Paul finishes this up with my post sermon blessing. He says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This peace of God is a condition brought about between God and His people as a consequence of salvation. There is no dividing wall between us and Him. We are made right with Him and are no longer at odds with Him. This is a special peace. What the human mind, reason, and understanding cannot do, the peace of God does with ease. His peace keeps the heart in check, it watches our minds, it guards against human affections and sinful thoughts. What a peace!
So, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!” While it can be a difficult thing to hear, we can always rejoice in a God that is as awesome as ours. IN JESUS’ NAME, AMEN.
