Again I Say: Rejoice
In these last couple of years, I have encountered so many people who have faced some of the hardest battles of their lives. Our nation, along with many others, has faced dark times through Covid, racial injustice, wars, increase in crime, national debt, job loss…the list could go on and on.
In times like this, it’s vital to pay attention to the “turn-around moments” in the Bible. What did the people of God do when they faced impossibly dark and hopeless situations?
One of my favorite examples is that of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:23-40. After being beaten beyond reason and without cause, they were thrown into a prison cell. Everything changed in that moment. They were no longer free. They were in pain. They were beaten publicly. However, one thing remained the same; their trust in God.
It does not say that Paul and Silas weren’t afraid or that they didn’t cry out in pain as they were beaten. It doesn’t say that they weren’t embarrassed or angry. This story just clearly shows us that they did not allow their emotions, trauma, or circumstances to control them. They knew that if they stayed connected to the One who was really in control, then they would be just fine. So what did they do?
In one of the darkest hours of their lives, Paul and Silas began to worship and rejoice! After being beaten, ridiculed, threatened, chained, and imprisoned, they made the CHOICE to rejoice! They understood that all natural circumstances are being navigated in the spirit. The authorities could imprison them in the natural, but they couldn’t do a thing in the spirit!
Paul and Silas used their mouths to rejoice and worship themselves into a place of freedom in the spirit the became more real than their bondage in the natural!
READ THAT AGAIN!
Their rejoicing caused them to SEE their freedom in the spirit, and what they saw in the spirit was so REAL and so POWERFUL that the natural realm had no choice but to respond by CHANGING their natural reality!
Jesus sees you free, healthy whole, prosperous, bold, and successful!
Spend time rejoicing today so that you can get in the spirit and see things His way. You will soon begin to see in the natural what you see so clearly in the spirit. When we rejoice and take the time to see what’s REALLY going on in the spirit, we position ourselves for a much needed miracle, breakthrough, suddenly, and turn-around moment!
“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” - Philippians 4:4 (KJV)