It has been a while y'all! Greetings from our Heavenly father of lights. It is He who has made us. A great privilege to standing. Today, we shall be looking at a simple topic: REJOICE ALWAYS. This was taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:16.
As has become a sort of habit for me, I'll start with a quick look at what the Greek lexicon has to say. CHAIRO is the Greek rendering of this word, has a number of meanings buried in it. Apart from Rejoice, CHAIRO also means "to be glad" and to be "full of joy." Interestingly, this Greek word has the same root with the word Grace(CHARIS). So, you definitely wouldn't have thought of rejoicing and grace having any link whatsoever. Well, they do!
Rejoicing is an act that even the most "spirit-filled" Christians struggle to come to terms with. I mean, who would really be so eager to praise God in the face of overwhelming misfortune or disappointments? It is usually a term pushed to the background in the heat of the moment. Yet, Paul, in his letter to the Church at Thessalonica, urged the faithfuls to rejoice. He knew things would never be smooth all the way. Regardless, he said we should rejoice. I do not doubt many of us have seen enough tragedies to be shared among three generations. I do not doubt the depth or validity of your sorrow. I understand the need to not want to rejoice; I mean, it would seem ironic...foolish to say the least. But we all must agree on one fact: God is surely not stupid. He would not say it if He didn't mean it, or if He didn't think it would help us. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:2 "...if it were not so, I would have told you."
Kenneth Hagin, one of my favorite ministers, had his own challenges but he became who he was not by whining about these problems. He spent his time rejoicing and praising God. The worse they got, the more he praised God. You see, REJOICING IN THE PLACE OF PAIN OR STRUGGLE DRAWS ON GRACE. That is where the connection comes in: God knows how humanly painful some experiences or events may be for us. Thus, He has provided us with CHARIS that we may, despite our night, sing of His glorious day!
I pray that in every situation you're going through at the moment, God will release upon you the grace to REJOICE. As you do so, watch and see Jehovah come forth for you....SHALOM!
