Rejoice! In the Lord!

Someone humorously suggested that “2020” will become a slang expression used like a curse word. Perhaps. However, I doubt that the year 2020 will be connected to rejoicing. There was too much sickness, too much misinformation, too much confusion, too much economic and political unrest, too much hostility. I don’t know what future history books will tell about 2020, but it really was a year in which to rejoice! Let me explain by looking into Psalm 116.

The psalmist began with thanksgiving, but said that it was not always that way:

The cords of death encompassed me
And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow. (v. 3)

He was describing his fear of death and the distress and sorrow experienced in his life.

I believed when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
I said in my alarm,
“All men are liars.” (v. 10)

Here, he described his perception of reality. He perceived himself suffering and perceived that all people were liars. Whether he really suffered or all people are liars is not the point. He perceived that to be true and it weighed on him.

So, what was his response to his fear of death and the things that dragged him down?

He “called upon the name of the Lord.” Then he told what he discovered and experienced:

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate. (4)
You have rescued my soul from death…. (8)
What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me? (12)

In short, God answered his plea and blessed him. Yet, it’s important to notice that the psalmist didn’t praise God for wealth, health, world peace or economic strength. Rather, life!

Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His godly ones. (15)

Many years later the Apostle Paul would write: 

“Rejoice in the Lord!” 

--Philippians 3:1 

Paul does not have us pinned down on our backs with his knee pressing against our chests, pointing down at our faces, commanding, “Rejoice!” He is trying to get us to see the reason and relevance for expressing joy every 2020 day of our lives. 

“Rejoice! In the Lord!” Without the phrase “in the Lord” we have no context. Our minds are sure to turn toward ourselves and our circumstances, perhaps to 2020.

What if Paul had made this a fill-in-the-blank, “Rejoice in __________”? 

What would you put in the blank?

I think most people, including Christians, would reflect on something that made them especially happy or left them with a sense of fulfillment. Some might think of a special time of year or a special person. I think some would say that their job or career brought them joy. Surely someone would say...

• “Rejoice in your family.”
• “Rejoice in your financial security.”
• “Rejoice in our great nation.”

Yet, all of those things are personal and temporary. They are about you. Time and chance affects them all and they cannot be sustained.

As Paul encouraged and the psalmist described, it is in the Lord that we find real joy. 

Only in the Lord is there hope. 

Only in the Lord is there life!

Rejoice! In the Lord!

Mark Stinnett

January 10, 2020