Robert Morgan
We hear much today about rejoicing. Some try it halfheartedly; others are not sure about it. Some time ago I met an old man who was a rejoicing saint. No matter what came his way he seemed to be able to rejoice. He could rejoice as well in adversity as in prosperity. This was an amazement to me until one day he explained his secret. He said I used to pray, “Oh, God, give me this and give me that.” Consequently, some days he was up and some days he was down. He said one day he decided to change all of that. When he arose in the morning instead of asking Jesus to do something for him he told Jesus if he would let him know what would make Him happy he would do it. Do you know what happened? God made him happy and he became a rejoicing saint.
A great deal of rejoicing is over things–answers to prayer, victories won, financial problems solved, marriages restored, etc. All of these are good and we certainly should thank God for all He does. But what about Paul telling us to, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice (Phil. 4:4)?” What if there are none of these things to rejoice about? If rejoicing depends on circumstances, then we will be Christians who are up one day and down the next. In Phil. 4:10 it sounds like Paul is rejoicing over money sent to him by the Christians at Philippi, but if you examine the scripture more closely, you will find in Phil. 4:17 he is really rejoicing over the spiritual benefit they would receive for having given to his need.
Jesus gives us a clearer picture of the right kind of rejoicing in Luke 10:20. The disciples were rejoicing because the devils were subject to them. Jesus immediately corrected them by saying, “…rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Jesus knew that circumstances would not always be such that they could rejoice but they could rejoice because their names were written in heaven.
We can always praise God that our names are written in heaven, for the Blood, for Jesus, the Cross, the Victory of Calvary, for God Himself, and His Kingdom, for the Holy Spirit, etc. These things never change and no matter what the circumstances, we can be a rejoicing saint.