Philip Dampier's Blog

Chapter4, Verse 4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

This is a central theme of Paul’s that we recognize. In spite of his circumstances, he has joy and he encourages the church to find the same. Did he and they have reasons to be sad or dismayed? Yes, we know they did. Much like we do from time to time. Paul’s plea is to ignore the difficulties and focus on the joyful things.

Paul writes this in a tone of determination and purpose. Find the good in life and rejoice. Look at the promised outcome, and rejoice. Compare the reward with the cost and rejoice. Paul assures us that we have reason to rejoice if we are in the Lord. No earthly power or force can overcome us nor take our reward away. Rejoice! Jesus has defeated death, so rejoice. Heaven is our home, again rejoice. God loves us, rejoice always.

Task for Today: You get the message, don’t you? Stop worrying, be happy. Remember Bobby McFerrin’s song? (Don’t Worry, Be Happy.) If you are a child of God then every aspect of your life is secure.