Paul tells the Philippians in verse 4 of Chapter 4 to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice.”
Thank is an amazing thing for Paul to write. Paul was in prison, probably in Rome, facing a capital charge that would soon cause his execution. What on earth could Paul have had to be joyful about? And why was he telling this congregation to rejoice?
Two thoughts as I try to answer those questions. The first is that the word joy and its cognates (joyful, rejoice, etc.) appears second in number in the Bible only to love. A key characteristic of Christian living should be joy. The angels announced the birth of Jesus at Luke 2:10 by saying to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people …”
Jesus undertook his ministry for the joy of it says Hebrews 12:1-2 “… let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” Read more…