REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS

Sound the trumpet into the night The day of the Lord is near
Wake His people, lift your voice Proclaim it to the world

Rise in splendor, shake off your sleep Put on your robes of joy
And in the morning you shall see The Glory of the Lord
Raise your voice, be not afraid Proclaim it in every land
Christ has died but he has risen He will come again

Nations tremble, wise men amazed A child is born this night
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God Our Father, Prince of Peace

Songs of angels Glory on High And Peace to men on earth
I bear glad tidings Born this day Your Savior and Your God

Let heaven rejoice and earth be glad
Let all creation sing
Let children proclaim to every land
Hosanna to the King!

Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" How often are you to rejoice? You know the answer, Always! You are to rejoice always, because "joy" is the easiest fruit to lose. You can't live off of the joy you had yesterday. Joy can give you strength only when you possess it.

If you had joy last week, that joy will not give you strength today. Joy can only give you strength today, if you have it today. This is why you must rejoice always.

You might say, "I don't feel like rejoicing." God didn't say, "Rejoice, only if you feel like it." No! He said, "Rejoice always." Obviously, God knows that you don't feel like rejoicing always. Yet you need to rejoice always because if you don't, then you lose the strength to fight.

James 1:2 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Pure joy is not happiness. "Happiness" comes from the word "happen." Happiness, therefore, is based on what is happening. If something good is happening, then you are happy. However, God says that pure joy occurs even in the midst of trials--even when the car breaks down, or when the kids get sick, or when the boss cuts your hours, or when your spouse is in a bad mood, etc.

Why is James telling us to count it pure joy whenever we face trials? Because joy gives you strength to fight your trials, and if you'll fight the trials, you will overcome. James continues, "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (v. 4). You see, James has in mind "victory over trials", not "acceptance of his trials." So by rejoicing, you overcome your trials.

YET I WILL REJOICE

You will love the verse in Habakkuk 3:17: "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls..." (Sounds like this fellow has problems.) Look at the next verse:
"Yet...Yet...Yet...Yet...Yet."
Notice, he is not going to surrender to his problems. He is going to do something about his problems.

He says, "Yet I will REJOICE IN THE LORD, I will be JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOR" (v. 18). He is going to REJOICE because, "The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights" (v. 19).

Habakkuk had no intention of staying defeated. He may look defeated, but he is not going to stay defeated. The difference between the person who is defeated and the person who is victorious is their attitude.

An attitude of gratitude will put you over in life. This is the kind of attitude that this prophet had. Even though nothing good was happening in his life--no fruit, no crops, no sheep, no cattle--yet he rejoiced.

In our modern world, Habakkuk might have said it this way:
"Though there is no food in the refrigerator, debt is up to our necks and there is no money in the account, though the sickness gets worse, and the pain persist, though my children are on drugs, and my spouse does not appreciate me, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

Regardless of the circumstances, we can rejoice!

--that in all things God may be glorified--

special thanks to Pastor Tom Brown