Written by Dawn Rutan
As I’ve been reading in the Psalms lately I’ve had this running commentary in my head: “‘Sing to the Lord a new song’ (Psalm 98:1)… Maybe later, God… ‘Make a joyful noise to the Lord’ (100:1)… Not right now, if You don’t mind.” But on top of that I was reminded of Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (ESV), along with 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” In both of those passages, the command to “rejoice always” comes in the middle of a long line of other commands. Paul certainly makes it sound like it is something that we are capable of doing.
It seems odd that an emotion would be commanded, and whole books have been written on the subject (Faithful Feelings is one I’ve read). I decided to go back to the source and look at the Greek. The word used in both of these Scriptures is χαίρετε, and HELPS Word Studies says: “properly, to delight in God’s grace (‘rejoice’) – literally, to experience God’s grace (favor), be conscious (glad) for His grace” (http://biblehub.com/greek/5463.htm).
That puts a whole new spin on things. Paul isn’t saying “Jump up and down with joy at all times.” Nor is he saying we should go through life making comments like, “I just totaled my car; praise the Lord!” What he is saying is that we should live with a daily consciousness of God’s grace, and as we do, that will color our experience of the varying circumstances of life. It doesn’t mean we won’t experience sorrow and pain. Elsewhere Paul says he is “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10) using the same Greek root. It’s okay to be sorrowful while living with an awareness of God’s presence, provision, and protection.
So going back to the Psalms, some of the “new songs” that we sing may be songs of God’s faithfulness in the midst of mourning; a “joyful noise” may be prayers of thanksgiving for who God is and all He has done by His grace. The knowledge and experience of God’s grace in the past gives us patience for today and hopeful expectation for the future.
Relevant Magazine recently posted the following:
“‘Blessed are those who mourn.’ This truth seems to be missing in certain Sunday morning positive thinking tutorials. It’s as if we’ve come to believe that a smile is definitive proof of what we believe, but a smile doesn’t mean that your faith is any more real or alive than the faith of someone in tears” (http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/sadness-doesnt-mean-we-are-struggling-our-faith#kZyZQhH1EsKcfUEk.99).
I keep encountering people who are tired of the happy-Christian façade. Even on Facebook, where we only see what people want us to see, friends are encouraging others to be more real. We can serve one another, not by being pseudo-joyful, but by pointing one another to true rejoicing in God’s grace and bringing that back to our consciousness even in the midst of sorrow.
My paraphrase of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
“Be always alert to God’s grace, live in constant communion with God, remember His goodness at all times, for this is the delight of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
