Rejoicing!

What does it mean to "rejoice always?" It cannot mean to laugh and be happy all the time, for Jesus said "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."  (Luke 6:21) And, "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep." (6:25)  Rejoicing, then, must be about more than emotions, laughter and tears.  Rejoicing is a mindset, an attitude, an outlook on life that looks beyond the daily struggles and fears and depends on something more.  Romans 12:12 says we are to "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."  The key to constant rejoicing is hope.  Not hope in the trivial everyday sense, but hope in the biblical sense.  What is the difference?  Biblical hope is about security in the future, resting entirely in God's sovereign hands, not wishful thinking about something we want to happen.  Hope, then, makes all the difference.

When we know that God's answer to Moses' questions was "I AM WHO I AM," that God is a rock in a weary land, a shelter in the time of storm, that when we pass through the waters, he will be with us, and through the floods they will not sweep over us, that God is a mighty fortress, a bulwark never failing, our guide and keeper, redeemer, sustainer and deliverer, how can we help but rejoicing evermore in the hope that all his precious promises will be fulfilled; that we will stand before the throne at the end of the age with people from every tribe, language, people and nation, and at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, singing "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come--Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created!"  How can we help but rejoicing in that hope!  Amen and Amen!