New Insight

New Insight

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

For years as I studied the Bible, I read Philippians 4:4 with the emphasis on only one idea: rejoice. I thought the verse said, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I will say it again—rejoice” (emphasis added).

So I pasted a smile on my face, thinking that’s how good Christians faced life. But life in this world includes having bad things happen. In my case, distant relatives died, a friend’s house burned, a major investment evaporated. These were not things in which I could rejoice. But even as I hurt for each situation, I tried to keep a happy countenance.

Then my young husband was diagnosed with brain cancer. Suddenly I was faced with a scary future that didn’t offer anything joyful. One evening, after my husband and children had gone to bed, a concerned friend called from out of state. He and his wife had held on to their deep faith despite having faced numerous trials, so I poured out my frustration at not being a good enough Christian during my family’s crisis.

“Why can’t my Christian walk be a walk?” I asked. “What am I doing wrong?”

My friend stifled a chuckle. “Who told you it’s supposed to be a walk?” he asked. “It’s a slugfest!”

A slugfest? In a single moment, I not only received a verbalized description of the battle we were waging against cancer, but I also was given permission to mourn the loss of the bright future we had planned. That night as I read Philippians 4:4, I saw it through new eyes. The verse tells us to always be full of joy in the Lord. Not in people, not in circumstances, but in the Lord. And even with tears running down my face, I knew I could rejoice because he was with us then and would be in the days ahead. —SANDRA

Lord, what a relief to know I don’t have to rejoice in bad news. All I have to do is rejoice in you—in your peace, your power, your very presence.

There is no escape from an aching soul, only denial of it. The promise of one day being with Jesus in a perfect world is the Christian’s only hope for complete relief. Until then we either groan or pretend we don’t.

—LARRY CRABB, PSYCHOLOGIST, SPEAKER, AND AUTHOR