Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. Phil 3:1
Sometimes the bible irks me. Take, for instance, this verse. Scripture – God, Himself – wants us to be joyful no matter what happens in our lives. Big Man in the sky say what?? Be joyful when times are hard?! Rejoice when life makes no sense? Put a smile on my face when I’m hurting?
Well, the short answer is yes. But how? Learning to be thankful/grateful/joyful in any situation doesn’t happen naturally. As a matter of fact, it’s quite a challenge. Yet, it is a foundational teaching of our faith, and learning why God commands something often helps us understand Him better.
So why does God want us to rejoice even when our circumstances seem horrible? Because He wants us to remember WHO HE IS!!
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He is able to work all things out for the GOOD of those who love Him.
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He is all-powerful, and can do anything on our behalf.
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He has a plan to draw all people to Himself, and He might be using our circumstances to teach, convict, or sharpen us or the people around us.
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He is in control, and we can trust Him to care for us.
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He will never leave us.
The next time we are tempted to wallow in misery, let’s choose to REMEMBER WHO GOD IS! Let’s rejoice that our God is able to do more than we can possibly ask or imagine, and let’s trust Him enough to respond with JOY rather than complaints!
Today, let’s focus on the One who can clear our path instead of the problems that make us stumble!
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