Rejoice in the Lord Always!

As I went on home visits with two of my close friends from California, “Rejoicing in the Lord” seemed to emerge as the theme of the day. But it was a theme that surfaced in the most unlikely places. The first stop on our long walk was at the home of a family with 5 children suffering from eye problems. None of the children can see well, and some are still half blind even after expensive surgeries. The children have to go to a special school, but right now they don’t have transportation money to return. School starts again next week and they are praying for God to provide money to transport the children there. But let me tell you, there was joy in this home. And I recognized it immediately as the joy of the Lord. The half blind kids smiled and laughed the entire time we were there. When I asked if we could sing a song, they immediately asked if we could sing, “This is the Day.” And so we did. For those of you who don’t know this song, it goes like this: “This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it.” We joyfully sang together and I was so blessed to watch this family truly rejoice in this day that the Lord has made. Yes, circumstances are tough, but they still rejoice in this day the Lord has given them and they choose to be glad in it.

After praying with them, we proceeded on to visit my friend Christine. Christine developed a muscle disease two years ago that has totally deteriorated her muscles. It has left her basically paralyzed, and in pain most of the time. She sits in a chair all long day and her six children (ages 3-13) take care of her, carrying her wherever she needs to go. But Christine knows the Lord and truly, the joy of the Lord is her strength. She greeted us with a radiant smile as we entered her home and was so excited to have visitors. As we talked, she shared that in the morning, she had read Philippians 4:4-7. It starts out by saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” She smiled and said that she was rejoicing today because God told her to. I asked her what her secret was in learning to rejoice even when life is hard. She just smiled and said, “I can rejoice today because I know that this earth is not my home. My home is in heaven and I am going to live there for eternity. When I arrive there, my suffering will be removed forever and there will be no more pain. I rejoice because I know that my suffering now is only temporary.”

We then began to sing the same song. “This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Only this time, Pastor Peter began to lead us in new verses. We sang,
“These are the people that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in them!”
“This is the family that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!”
“This is the lady that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in her!”
“These are the children that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in them!”
“This is the home that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!”


My cheeks hurt from smiling so much as we sang together. Truly, we have so much to rejoice in. But how often we go through our days and never rejoice in the gifts God has given us. I hummed this song the rest of the day and was amazed at how much joy it brought me. Throughout the day I sang, “This is the meal that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” “This is the water that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” “This is the road that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” “This is the bed that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” It was so great to remember to truly rejoice in all these little gifts from God. I think if we sing this song throughout our days, it really is possible to “Rejoice in the Lord Always.”

So my challenge to you today is to try it! Try rejoicing in everything God gives you today. If you know the song I’m talking about, sing it! Sing it throughout your day and I think you’ll be amazed at the joy that begins to take over your heart. I want to keep rejoicing. I want to keep singing. I want to be glad in my God and in the gifts He gives. Even as I write this e-mail, I am thinking about you all and am singing about you- “These are the people that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in them!” I hope you’ll join me in this dance of rejoicing! Christine understands this dance. Rizpah with her blind eye understands this dance. Lord, help us learn how to join it as well!