Philippians 4:4-5

Good morning!

Philippians 4:4-5: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.


I used to read this as just a bunch of sentences jumbled together just because. But now that I read it again this morning, it flows differently for me and I understand it better. I don't believe the Spirit of God inspired Paul to just throw some random sentences down on the page together. I believe it was meant for a reason that these short sentences are grouped together.

The word rejoice means to feel joy or great delight. When I think of the Lord and everything that He means to me, I begin to feel joy in my heart and I delight in Him! But I think Paul is saying...don't just stop there! Keep going...keep rejoicing! Rejoice again in Him and the more you do, the more your heart softens and your countenance changes. Gentleness oozes out of you...you just can't help it! Soon, everyone will start to see your mild temper and soft speech. It will be soothing to them and I believe that joy that you feel in your heart will be visible to all too. And then, most importantly, after you have delighted in Him and rejoiced and your whole day has changed and is sunnier and brighter...He is there with you. He is near, you can feel Him. It feels as if you can reach out and touch Him. The feeling is overwhelming and it makes you want to rejoice all over again!

So if you haven't guessed what my advice for you this weekend is yet, it's rejoice in the Lord always! And again I say...REJOICE!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!