“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

— Philippians 4:4

Have you ever noticed that people who are constantly morose and miserable just don’t seem to get along with others? Everywhere the gloomy person goes, he or she runs into interpersonal problems such as rejection and poor treatment. On the other hand, have you ever noticed that happy people don’t seem to have many enemies? A joyful person finds very few relational problems. This type of person doesn’t quickly take offense and doesn’t offend people very often; rather, this person brings gladness into any situation.

How does a person maintain such a consistently joyful attitude? Does God want us pretending to be happy when we’re not? Not at all. God wants us to have true joy. So how do we cultivate this attitude? The Scripture says, “In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This is the wonderful secret God would have us know: We find fullness of joy in God’s presence. By spending time with the Lord we will have joy infused into our souls. We’ll discover the truth that Christ is indeed no killjoy but is in fact the great King and source of all joy.

Often, we don’t feel joyful because we haven’t spent enough time with God. But if we wait in the Lord’s presence, He’ll fill us with His joy. If we seek the fullness of His Holy Spirit, we’ll receive the fruit of joy. If we confess any sin that hinders us from rejoicing in the Lord, we’ll experience the joy of our salvation.

If you’re running a bit low on joy today, spend some quality time with God. Allow Him to saturate your soul with His joy. Then, as you go through the day, rejoice at every opportunity you have. Again I will say, rejoice!

“Life is a duty . . . Life is divine when duty is a Joy.”
Henry Van Dyke