Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:4-5.
Today you LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I give you an opportunity to rejoice. In fact I command you to do so. But My commandments are opportunities to grow, increase, and have good days filled with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. And I have a reason I tell you to rejoice always. It is a wonderful and amazing way to live, it makes you a wonder to others and a joy to be with. It makes a joy to Me and a joy to yourself. Why would you want to live any other way but in rejoicing?
Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O LORD have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God; and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household. Deuteronomy 26:10-11.
And you join with Me, for I rejoice over you.
The LORD your God is in you midst a mighty hero; He will save, He will rejoice over you with exceeding gladness; He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing and joyful shouts. Zephaniah 3:17.
In My presence there is fullness of joy. To be near Me is your good. And others should feel that way about you.
My Will for you in Christ Jesus is to rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give constant thanks. Why? Because that will make your life filled with days of Heaven on earth. It will make your life extraordinary. It is a wonderful way to live. To see everything as I do and to enjoy what I have made for you.
Rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men. Proverbs 8:30-31.
I made everything for you to richly enjoy.
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17.
The Israelites could have had such a wonderful journey with Me through the wilderness to the land I had prepared for them for over four hundred years. I had taken them out of Egypt rich and healed, laden with silver and gold, by signs, wonders and miracles such had never been seen or experienced before or since. I fed them manna and quail that fell from Heaven and kept them well and strong. I gushed water out of rocks and never even let their feet swell with all the walking. And yet, though they started out singing and dancing with joy it did not continue. They became grumblers, complainers, quarrelsome with one another, so much so that they lined up all day to have their cases against each other ruled upon.
And though I raised them up out of Egypt on eagles wings to bring them entirely to Myself to make into them a great nation, a blessed and prosperous people offering My Word of Life to the world, but they limited Me and refused to go higher with Me except for a very few of them.
And what kept them back and limited their lives to mediocrity and lower when I wanted to make their lives extraordinary with every one of them a member of My royal priesthood, a people set apart living and walking in supernatural favor and blessing in My secret place where no harm could touch them in the wilderness or in the promised land?
They refused to rejoice in all I was doing and had done for them to set them free and prosper them. They refused to be joyful, to fellowship with Me (pray without ceasing), and were not grateful (no thanksgiving only fault finding, even with the manna that fell from Heaven on the dewfall, a perfect food that they did not grow or make).
And Moses explained to them what their critical, fearful, distrusting attitude would do:
“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and he [the devil] will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.” Deuteronomy 28:47-48.
Have you set your mind to see things in love and to rejoice?
The voice of thanksgiving brings wonders. The voice of thanksgiving calls in good things, it brings My magnificent promises to pass. If the Israelites had responded to My promise of the victory in the promised land and the beautiful cities, houses, fruit trees, vineyards and wells that I promised them for free, with rejoicing and thanksgiving, they would have had them very quickly. All the good things I promised would have chased them down and overtaken them.
“Now it shall be, if you diligently hear and obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2.
And you will notice when I command you to rejoice it is a clearly defined parameter: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4.
You are to rejoice in Me because your circumstances will change but I never will, and if you are rejoicing in Me, everything around you will rejoice as well. I am the LORD your healer, I am the LORD who forgives all your sins and lawless deeds; I am your righteousness. I am your holiness, I am your exceeding joy, I am your victory, I am your sustainer, I am your helper, I am your strength, I am your everlasting rock.
Be at peace. Peace I give you. My own peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give, the peace that I put within your heart, but you still have a part. Do not let your heart be troubled, do not let it be afraid. Trust Me in whom you believe, I am wonderfully able to save.
So do not say you have no peace. I tell you in My Word that there is no peace for the wicked but that those who have their minds fixed (anchored) on Me have great peace—unshakeable peace.
I am the God of Peace. I AM Shalom.
If you are at peace, then you have joy. You cannot have joy without peace in your soul.
If you love Me, you keep My Word and I make My home with you and reveal Myself to you through Jesus. And in My presence there is fullness of joy. And I have told you all these things so you may share My joy and your joy may be complete. And one fruit of the Spirit is joy.
Do you have joy? Can you say with My apostle Paul that you are overflowing with joy no matter what is going on in your life? Are you rejoicing in Me? Paul does not just tell you to rejoice in the Lord always, he did just that.
And My Spirit speaking through Paul does not just tell you to rejoice one time. As it is written: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4. And again it is written: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give constant thanks, for this is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. And then I add—“do not quench the Spirit.” When you are depressed, anxious, or fearful you cannot hear from Me and you quench My Spirit in you.
I very rarely tell you anything is My Will for you in Christ Jesus so you see that rejoicing is of great importance. I emphasize it often. A cheerful heart is a good medicine and makes a happy countenance, giving joy to all you encounter. Proverbs 17:22; Proverbs 15:13. And in the Book of Nehemiah it is written “Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10.
But a depressed spirit dries up your bones. Proverbs 17:22.
Joy gives you peace. Sadness gives you unrest. Joy has hope. Depression has no hope.
Hope gives you joy—confident expectation of good. No hope gives worry, fear and sadness, expectation of no good and worse.
How do you have joy? My Word tells you how—follow My Word and you shall have joy.
I tell you that in My presence you find fullness of joy. If you are out of joy, you are not aware of Me with you. You have lost sight of My care, love, and closeness to you. You are feeling alone and out of place. Move your mind back on Me and My promises to you. Think again about how wonderfully and uniquely I made you. There is no one like you (everyone has different DNA, fingerprints, voice prints, and iris patterns). And then praise Me and talk with Me and about Me with others. This will get you into My presence for it is then that you become aware of Me and are able to experience My joy.
Pray without ceasing. This means that you are aware of Me and that you cast your cares on Me with complete trust in My goodness to you. And I tell you how to do this in Philippians 4:6-7:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, make your requests known to Me. Be specific about what is bothering you—make a list and remind Me of My promises to you in My Word touching these matters. This is a petition.
And then you must trust that I have heard and answered your request and that I am showing you the solution and deliverance is on the way, and refuse to worry about the matter any further. Just settle in your heart that I am engineering the situation to show you favor and cause you to triumph. And then My peace, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7.
And then you must keep your mind off what is upsetting you. I tell you to only dwell on what is true, honorable, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8.
This is living by faith. And faith gives you confidence and confidence in the face of trials gives you joy.
Give constant thanks. Be grateful at all times.
You cannot stay sad long when you start thanking Me for everything—for the gift of your life, your wonderfully made body, the provision I give, the good plan I have for your life, the beauty of the sky, sea, and hills, the beauty of a flower, of a baby, and the gift of Jesus. Be thankful that you are in Him and that you are forgiven, cleansed, healed and delivered.
And start thanking Me that I have a solution for your problem and that I will fix it for you. Be thankful if pain or sickness tries to attack you that you have a healer with whom you are in Covenant and that you can and will be healed if you mix the promises with your faith. That you have a provider so that you will prosper no matter where your finances are now. That you have deliverer who will make all things work together for your good, if love Me (i.e., keep My Words) and are called according to My purpose.
Psalm 113 is a good place to start: you enter My gates with thanksgiving! So that is a good way to get into My presence where there is fullness of joy.
Seek My Kingdom first and you will have joy. Get your eyes off your problem and onto My Kingdom. Your problem will begin to look very small next to the joy that is in store for you. And you will find that in getting your eyes on Me rather than just on yourself you will find the real “you” and your true self. For all good things return from Love. And I am Love. Every good and perfect gift comes from Me.
And now I will teach you something that will bring you comfort, confidence and joy in every situation, simply refer all to Me and then smile and say, “Papa taking care.” And I am and I will. Always. Cast your cares on Me because I care for you.
I am with you, talk with Me. You will find fullness of joy in My presence and the delights at My right hand forever. I will never leave you or forsake you.
Remember, “Abba (Papa) taking care.”
I love you. I have much more to teach you of this great command to rejoice. The Holy Spirit will explain to you.