Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” This is a very interesting thing for Paul to say because he was sitting in a Roman prison at the time. (See Philippians 1:7 and 1:13.) Philippians was one of four letters that Paul wrote from prison, the others being Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.

In Philippi Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and illegally imprisoned on bogus charges. (See Acts 16:16-24.) Their reaction was to pray and sing hymns of praise to God.

If Paul and Silas can rejoice under those circumstances, surely we can all rejoice in whatever situation we find ourselves.

I wrote that about 2 weeks ago. It sounds easy, but it can be easier said than done. Shortly after I wrote that I had a hard fall while on a bicycle ride. I broke my leg, sustained a concussion, and suffered many scrapes and bruises including a very black eye. I ended up in a hospital for 5 days and a rehab facility for another 9 days. The injuries were (and still are) some of the most painful I have ever  experienced in my life. I confess that I did not do a lot of rejoicing during those two weeks. I needed someone to remind me to rejoice—and to remind me about  all of the many reasons I have to rejoice.

So if you need a reminder to rejoice, this is it! Rejoice!

And if you need a few ideas about what to rejoice about, I’ve listed some below. They won’t all apply to you, I’m sure, but then you can come up with your own list of reasons to rejoice.

Life

Being made in the image of God

God’s grace and mercy

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross

The Resurrection and the promise of eternal life

Your health

Modern medicine

Modern science

That God made your body able to heal

Communion

Baptism

Marriage & your spouse

Children (yours and/or others)

Having enough to eat

Clean water

Indoor plumbing

Friends

Your church

Music

Freedoms

Graduations

Our military

Pets and other animals

Plants

Rain

Sunshine

Sports and competition

Computers

Books

Plays, musicals, movies, and other forms of entertainment

Being able to read and write

Your senses

A warm fire when it’s cold outside

Modern means of travel

Bicycles

I hope I got you started on your own reasons to rejoice. If you can think of no other reason to rejoice, rejoice because you are loved by God.

So, Rejoice!