Rejoice always

Rejoice always, - 1 Thessalonians 5.16

These two words sound so nice, don't they? Just rejoice evermore. Why then it is so hard to put into practice?

It would be nice to sound all spiritual and all, but sometimes we face stuff that makes is hard to rejoice. It is hard to rejoice when someone gets cancer or loses a job or has great financial needs or when someone dies or so many other things.

How do we possibly rejoice in those times? How do we rejoice when everything in us tells us to complain or give up or doubt God?

We can only rejoice always when we have enough faith to trust God in those dark or difficult hours. When we can’t rejoice it is because we don’t really believe that God can sort things out. No, it is not easy to rejoice when the doctor walks out and says that a loved one has life threatening cancer. But I don’t think we have to rejoice in the cancer or other disaster.

I think our joy comes when we remember that we have a God of love to carry us through those times. We rejoice because we have hope despite the circumstances. Our joy comes not from bad news, but from the peace that passes all understanding and we trust God through the circumstances.

We live in a broken world. Bad stuff is going to happen. We need God's peace to deal with that bad stuff. 

Praise God for that peace, and may I learn to rejoice in Him during good times and bad.