“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice’” Philippians 4:4
I often feel this sentiment when I wake up on a Friday morning. The weekend is coming! I’m not usually saying the same thing on a Monday morning…
We are encouraged to rejoice always, in all circumstances – Monday through to Sunday. It’s actually a choice we have to make day-to-day, sometimes moment-to-moment. It’s more than feeling happy. None of us can possibly be happy all the time – neither should we; there are times when it’s natural to be sad or disappointed. Joy is much more than that – it’s grounded in the knowledge that there is true hope. There’s not a chance that God will stop loving us, believing in us or that he will ever abandon us to cope alone.
Seven years ago I lay in a hospital bed wondering if I would ever see properly again. After a battery of tests the doctors didn’t seem to know what was wrong with me, or how to treat it. In a moment of clarity in the middle of literal darkness, joy filled my heart. I suddenly knew with certainty that I wasn’t alone and whatever the outcome that fact was never going to change. In the coming weeks a treatment plan was put in place and my sight was restored but I’ve never forgotten that moment of total despair restored by the joy of the Lord.
On this Friday morning – embrace that joy and never let it go!