Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice”

Unable to go to the Philippian church in person because he is in prison, Paul writes, calling them to life of continual praise. For Paul this is more than just a pesky predicament, its prison, the loss of his friends and his freedom. But for Paul his focus is not on the problems but the praise, using the words joy and rejoice over 15 times in this short letter. Praise lets us see past our present predicament and focus on the joy instead of the junk.

• Praise sees the Person of Jesus not the pain

Paul reminds us that our rejoicing is in Christ not our circumstances, rejoicing is a result of relationship not religion. The peace of Christ is greater than any predicament we may face. Paul’s Prison cell didn’t limit the Lord, Christ was not chained down because of Paul’s circumstances. I love Corrie ten Boom response when she was released from Ravensbrück concentration camp after being arrested and imprisoned by the Natis, and later learning that her release had been a clerical error, “God does not have problems — only plans.” Today many have replaced the joy of relationship with ritual, stuck in a rut, or wrapped up in the rules of religion. We have traded following Christ for a formula, but relationship is not a recipe we religiously repeat. It’s not about measuring and mixing the right stuff, it’s about the Savior and living together in His light and love. We have traded communion with Christ for convenience, buying into a ready bake religion instead of a relationship. Surrounding ourselves with comfort and preferring a problem free life over the present peace of the Lord. In this life we will have pain but Paul reminds us of a powerful truth, we have a choice to rejoice. We may not be able to remove the chains of our current circumstance but we do not have to be bound by the bars of bitterness. This is a call to choose Christ over the crisis, to be motivated by the Master and not the misery. Christians are the victorious not the victims, we are His royal priesthood not raged paupers, we are the redeemed not the ruined. We need to stop living like losers; we need to look to the Lord, to believe in God and let Him guide, not fate, or some uncontrollable force. This is not a seasonal summer joy that is stolen away and swallowed in the snows of winter. No this is a life style of joy, a chorus of choosing Christ. The choice to rejoice is ours every day and to refuse to choose is in itself a choice. Our greatest work is worship, praise that proclaims the power of our King, so we must go to work regardless of the weather. Seasons come and seasons go, circumstances change, but our praise should persist.

• Praise sees the possibilities not the problems

The apostle Paul wasn’t blind to the problems in the church at Philippi, he knew about the people problems like Euodia and Syntyche who were quarreling. But problems will always be a part of life and we can let them control and consume us or we can look past them to the possibilities. Chuck Swindoll once said, “We all are faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” We all see the problems but do we see the possibilities? The key to dealing with our problems is perspective. When the Israelite soldiers saw Goliath, they saw someone so big he couldn’t be beat, but David saw someone so big that he couldn’t miss. While the soldiers focused on Goliath, David focused on God, giving him a greater perspective. A proper perspective results in praise, you are either going to focused on the size of your problem and feared or focus on the Father and praise. There is a story that is told about two shoe salesman that were sent to Africa. One sent a message home that said: “Get me home, nobody here wears shoes.” The other salesman’s sent a message that read: “Send me all of the shoes you can, nobody here wears shoes.” So what is it that you see? Are you caught up in the problems or the possibilities?

• Praise lets us see people in relation to their potential

The Philippian Christians were dear to Paul and as he writes to them he says: “I thank God every time I remember you” Philippians 1:3. How do you see people? Do you see them primarily as a problem, or in relation to their potential? Jesus saw the potential in people, encouraging them to become the persons God created them to be. Often the disciples looked more like a dangerous disaster than the dream team. They were often childish, careless and cowards, yet Jesus chose to journey with them, to lead and love them. Praise gives us more than just a positive outlook it gives us a people perspective, allowing us to see past the pathetic and view the potential. Am I looking at the mess or the most in people? Ministry is messy, but praise lets us mentor the most in people, to draw out what can’t be seen and cultivate what is rough until it becomes ripe. What we believe about others will overflow in our behavior toward them. Are you despising or developing, complaining or cultivating? Praise gives us a proper perspective allowing us to view people through the vehicle of potential. How do you relate in your relationships, Paul chose a pep talk over a put down.

• Praise sees the present in relation to God’s promises

If you’re not careful, you can get stuck in the prison of your present problems. Many today are trapped by their jailhouse attitude, living in regret instead of rejoicing. Rather than self-pity Paul chose praise, fixing his mind on things above instead of below, as he pressed on toward the goal. Nothing alters our attitude more than praise. There will always be high and low points and even though we may have no control over your altitude we do over our attitude. What happens in you is more important than what happens to you. When we see the present in relation to the promises, we are able to hold onto the hope that our future is in God’s hands. Promises protect our hearts from our heads, allowing us to spend our time in devotion not doubt. Promises let us operate above the problems, positioning us in the present and preparing us for what is to come. Praise will fuel your life like a fire and take you father. Today no matter what the prison choose to praise, let joy rattle the chains of your circumstance. Clap your shackle hands, jumping for joy in your jail, lift high your hands and hold onto the promises of God.

1 Peter 1:6-9
6 “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”

As Peter reminds us of Christ’s resurrection from the dead and what is reserved for those who have a relationship with the risen Savior we cannot help but smile at the wonderful joy we have in Jesus. The Greek word for joy here implies a forever joy, an out of this world joy, it is used in 1:8 to convey an “inexpressible and glorious joy” and again in 4:13 for being “overjoyed” at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is a jubilant joy based on our journey with Jesus and His finished work. As believers the best is yet to come, yet we so often forget to have a forward looking focus. It’s easy to get trapped by the temporary instead of the excitement we can experience through our eternal life. Peter tells us the truth about this life, we will experience trials and tribulations but we don’t have to let them trip us up. We can focus on the hardships or the heart of the Father, we can meditate on mercy or misery, on the challenges or the coming glorious culmination of our salvation. For those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ the problems are not permanent but the promises are. Today are you dwelling on the problems or the promises? We have an inheritance that is both reserved and preserved, pure and priceless. One that is not left to chance or change, free from the bonds of death and decay, and beyond our wildest dreams. So how should we respond to the wonderful work of our Savior? Peter says that we should rejoice in our redemption with an inexpressible joy. Our confident is not based on our circumstances but Christ and what is yet to come. Our souls can smile through the suffering because we have a Savior who is stronger than our sin and more powerful than our problems. Peter says that this is a joy that can’t be kept on the inside, it is not hidden by hurt, rather it is revealed through the rough times. As we experience and endure the trials of life God refines our faith and develops our inner strength. Preparing us for the most wonderful experience of our existence, our great personal encounter with Him, as we step from earth into eternity. Peter starts first with truth and them proceeds to talk about the trials, because God’s truth always trumps our trials. So after beginning his letter with wonderful words of hope and encouragement, Peter proceeds with caring counsel for those who are facing trials and suffering. Peter knows firsthand what it is to face temptations and trials, I’m sure he remembers well the pain and disappointment of his denial of Christ. We are all tempted at some time to turn our backs on what we believe, to forsake our faith and fall away. Like Peter many have heard the rooster crow, revealing their failing courage and cowering fear. But Peter learned that God is greater than our grief, that God can uses trials to bring benefits into our life. As Peter shares with a church caught in suffering he reminds them that no matter what the journey brings we can have joy. That even though this life holds hardships, filled with sadness and suffering Christ is still in control. We rejoice because as Christians trials don’t define us they refine us. We have a Redeemer that is renewing us and who will richly reward, the eternal gains of heaven will more than compensate our earthly hurts. Hardships can help, they don’t have to hinder and harden the heart, and instead trials teach us to be tender. They can enrich and develop our faith, which God says is more precious than gold. God is not the source of suffering or the author of affliction but He also doesn’t allow it to be wasted. He uses every trial to train, and only God can bring miracles out of our misery. God assures us that He will plant seeds in the soil of our sorrow that will sprout up to compete and choke out the weeds of this world. Seeds that will bloom and bear fruit, bolstering our faith, not saving faith, but sanctifying faith. Trials have two benefits for believers, first these trials demonstrate our Faith. Trials test and reveal real faith. In James 1:12 the word test comes from the Greek word, dokimon, meaning to test for the purpose of approving. Suffering trials demonstrates the authenticity of our faith, putting it on display for the entire world to see. Here Peter provides us with the picture of gold. If you thought you had discovered gold how would you prove its authenticity, and reveal its true value? First you would take it to an assayer who would evaluate it by putting it to the test. Testing gold involves rubbing the gold-colored item on black stone, which will leave an easily visible mark. The mark is then tested by applying nitric acid which will dissolve the mark of any item that is not gold. This testing focuses on the fact that gold is a noble metal, resistant to change by corrosion, oxidation or acid. Peter says that the same thing often happens to our faith, if we had nothing but favorable circumstances, our faith might not be authentic faith rooted in the Father but simply our favorable circumstances. Take away our favorable circumstances, replace our comfort with crisis and if faith in God is still there, it’s genuine. What about your faith is it leaving a mark that is not dissolved by the afflicting acid of life? Second, trials develop and deepen our Faith. Stress can strengthen, and just like a physical muscle that is exercised so our faith must also be flexed. Trials test our faith, refining by removing the rubbish. When gold comes out of the ground it is often mixed with impurities, taking the flames of the fire to refine. In this life we will experience trials of testing, whose purpose is not just to reveal our faith, but to refine it. We can rejoice in tests and trials because they reveal what is real and hopefully we can respond like Job, a man who knew disaster and difficulty, Job 23:10 “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” What hard thing is harassing you, what life lesson are you learning right now? Is your faith being revealed and refined? Are you focusing on the mark of faith or the misery? Just like gold we need the fire to test and refine our faith, as it burns away the impurities. Only when we see the benefit of the fire, and perceive its purifying purpose will we rejoice in difficulty rather than rebel. Trails are not about us trying but simply trusting. May be today you are struggling under the heat of some hardship, just remember that no matter how hot it gets God’s hand is on the thermostat and He knows what He is doing. So are you going to shout about your salvation or your suffering?