In the Bible, "rejoice" expresses a deep sense of joy, happiness, and gladness, often in celebrating God's goodness, salvation, or blessings.
We all struggle to maintain joy. Many things in life rob us of joy – losing a loved one, sickness, relationship struggles, and other problems can cause us to lose our daily joy. In Philippians 4:4, Paul is reminding the Christians in Philippi, and us today, to find our joy in Jesus - our constant, steadfast hope.
Paul doesn’t teach that we should always be skipping around, totally detached from the real world. He teaches that even in hard times, Christians can drink deeply from the well of salvation that produces joy amid struggle. You should always sing joyfully because of the Savior, even when you have to sing with tears pouring down your face.
Paul's message encourages us to find our joy not in our circumstances but in our relationship with the Lord. Through gratitude, we, as believers, can shift our perspective and have lasting joy, even in the face of adversity.
“Begin to rejoice in the Lord, and your bones will flourish like an herb, and your cheeks will glow with the bloom of health and freshness. Worry, fear, distrust, care- all are poisonous! Joy is balm and healing, and if you will but rejoice, God will give power.” - A. B. Simpson