Light in the Darkness
August 11, 2024
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, Rejoice.
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“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice,” writes the Apostle Paul. Those sound like good words if you are on a Mediterranean Cruise. However, while Paul writes them from Rome, he is in prison at the time facing execution. Not only that, he’s faced great hardships as he has served Jesus. How can he rejoice, let alone exhort others to rejoice and to not be anxious about anything?
Suffering and hardships are real. We face problems that are bigger than us. But while God sometimes changes our circumstances, God always changes us.
God doesn’t drop a couple thousand in our checking account from time to time to make us happy. A new car doesn’t appear in our driveway every year. Our doctor doesn’t always say, “Just keep doing what you are doing.” Our friends don’t always treat us the way we would like.
Instead, God often opens our eyes to the many blessings to which we are blind and transforms our desires towards his own. Remember back in Philippians 2, “Let your mind be like that of Christ Jesus who did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.” Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me” and “Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven.”
If God truly loves us, what do you think he is going to do? Spoil us or shape us to resemble Jesus?
