Rejoice!

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” - Philippians 4:4 NIV

I was listening to Chris Tomlin’s worship anthem How Great Is Our God. Chris Tomlin is probably the most widely known song worship leader and worship song writer currently in the world. His songs have helped me reach new levels in my own worship. God has worked through Chris’ words and music to bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. This to say, Chris Tomlin has my greatest respect for the faithful service he has been doing for Jesus.

One of the lines in the song is “let all the world rejoice. All the world rejoice.” This is an incredible command that was incorporated into the song as an appropriate response to God’s majesty. And not to say anything against the dynamics of how Chris had sung the verse, but it hit me that perhaps this softer reflective tone doesn’t quite do the command justice.

The point of this really has nothing to do with a song critique, it has everything to do with the way we respond to our God and His presence. We, His people, those who have been called [the] children of God (1 John 3:1 NIV), should respond to our great Heavenly Father in normally expected ways … just because of who God is. There should be awe and wonder, fear and reverence, praise and thanksgiving! Much rejoicing in the Lord! This is our privilege and pleasure of being before the King. There will be a day when we all will be before His eternal presence and will have no other desire but to respond in triumph, reverence, eternal worship and praise (Romans 14:11, Isaiah 45:23). There will be no greater joy we have ever known or has ever been created than what we have in store. Too often, we get caught up in the pushes and pulls of this world. We are buffeted along this crazy river of life being tossed in the currents and sometimes even thrown against the rocks. Since this becomes our main focus, we quickly lose perspective of what will truly bring us joy in this life.

I will say it again: Rejoice!

This is our act of defiance to the world and an act of reverence for our God who has created the universe. This God who spoke creation into being and yet still holds our hearts in His hand. Take back that which God has given to you which the world tries to steal away. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). If we want to break out of the mundane, if we want to have more than this complacency that we have confused for contentment, then I challenge you: Rejoice! Laugh in the face of diversity. Stand against the current and remember that you are tired because you thought it would be better to go with the flow of the world and not take the narrow path given to us by our Father. God challenges us to trust His will and trust that His ways are better than our own. Borrowing another song reference, this time from Caedmon’s Call’s You Created (1999): “You created nothing that gives me more pleasure than You. And You won’t give me something that gives me more pleasure than You.”

Stand up and cheer. Give your Father His due for He is the only One worthy of our praise. Let that excited feeling deep inside your heart that dreams to be bold break out and have a voice. Let your heart be undignified in the eyes of the world and rejoice!!!