It’s a simple verse in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice” (KJV), but the command can be confusing. How does anyone rejoice when bad things happen? When a loved one dies, rejoicing is to take place? When a job dissolves, financial crunch happens, kids are bullied at school, divorce is in the works, health is failing, friendships are broken, church splits happen, the car breaks down, we are to rejoice? How in the world are we to be happy when deep sadness and frustration occurs? God’s Word doesn’t say to be happy when bad things happen; it says to rejoice in the midst of it. Let’s look at how.
In I Samuel 15:22 we are told, “…Obedience is better than sacrifice” (NLT). When grief grips us and worries weigh heavy, we can still choose to be obedient in rejoicing. We are not happy something terrible has happened, but we can praise God that although we are shocked, nothing takes Him by surprise. When we feel we have lost control over our situation, we can rejoice that God is always in control, and that He uses every bad thing to work together for our good. (Romans 8:28) That is a promise from God and we know God does not lie.
In the midst of our broken heart, we can thank our Heavenly Father that He is with us; we are not alone. He holds our tears, wraps His comfort around us, whispers words of love into our deepest hurting places. When we run out of plans, God always knows what to do next. He gives us His wisdom, His comfort, His direction.
Jesus has known grief, rejection, false accusation. He lived a most humble life sleeping many nights on the ground. He was jeered and despised, but He never ceased trusting His Father and praising Him. Jesus wept, but He always rejoiced, and found inner strength in doing so.
We are not told to be happy in sadness, but to rejoice in the midst of every grief. Often we make the mistake of waiting until, “we feel like it.” We may tell ourselves that we’ll surely praise God when we feel better; but wait, that’s not how it works. Praise God in the midst of every painful moment, and then you will feel like it. As we choose to rejoice in the love of God our Father, we come to know His peace that passes all understanding, we come to know the joy of the Lord is our strength — no matter the depth of grief or the weight of worry.