Bible Verse of the Day Monday August 22nd, 2022

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

We see this reference to joy throughout the entire Epistle of Philippians (1:4, 1:18, 1:25, 2:2, 2:16, 2:17, 2:18, 2:28, 3:1, 3:3, 4:1, and here in 4:4). There could have very well been some concern on Paul's mind for the great need of this message to the Christians in Philippi. They were probably discouraged because of the imprisonment of Paul and the likelihood and prospect of his death. At the writing of this Epistle, in 62-63 AD, Paul had already spent two years imprisoned in Jerusalem (58-60) and then at least a year, possibly more, under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial before the emperor (61-64 AD).

We see in Philippians 2:25-27 that Paul was going to send Epaphroditus to minister to the Philippians, but he (Epaphroditus), was ill and almost died, which brought distress to the Philippians (Philippians 2:26). Additional causes of dismay and despair of the Philippians Christians could have been disagreement among some members of the churches there, along with the false gospel teaching of the legalist spreading throughout the Christian Churches.

Paul did not leave this message for us to be unrealistic; there will always be times of sadness in our lives. Jesus, Himself even wept because of the dismay of the sisters of Lazarus at their brother's death (John 11:35). Paul's message is that, although we will experience sadness at times, we should focus our lives not on the cause of the sorrow but on the great blessings we have in Christ Jesus. In our despair, there can be joy in knowing that we are not alone in any tribulation we must go through; this is Joy in the Lord. The rocky roads that we sometimes must walk upon, with Christ Jesus walking with us, will not seem shaky at all.

Sometimes disagreements between brothers and sisters might arise during this time of sadness; some are more likely to give or take offense during this time. However, those full of joy in the Lord are beautifully occupied with more extraordinary things and will not be distracted by some minor imperfect infraction that will always occur in our imperfection. This joy that Paul is referring to here is not some false face of joy and happiness that we put on to make the world think we are alright. Instead, this joy comes from firm confidence that God is always in control, and no matter what happens, God will use it for good in our lives (Romans 8:28).

Paul had set a great example of joy in times of great trouble and distress for those in Philippi and us while he and Silas from the Philippian jail on his second missionary journey. After being severely beaten, placed in chains, and thrown into the inner part of a prison, Paul and Silas did not have a pity party; they prayed and sang hymns. (Romans 16:16-34).

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