Philippians 4:4-7
(by Annie)To rejoice in the Lord always, what does that mean? Sometimes as Christians we can feel a huge pressure to always be happy, never complain and just in general be the nicest people. Maybe that kind of way of life isn’t too much of a challenge for you, but for me who sometimes is not the least bit happy or nice and who sometimes complains about anything and everything, this kind of ideal seems very difficult to live up to, and the pressure from a verse like today’s can sometimes feel suffocating.
However, as we have been talking about in youth group earlier, there is a difference between joy and happiness. Happiness can come and go, and it’s ok to both feel, and not to feel, happy. Joy however is something deeper, something that comes from being a child of God. Being one of God’s children isn’t something we can deserve but it’s given to us, if we are happy, never complain and are nice are irrelevant, being adopted into God’s family is a free gift, given to all those who believe. Knowing that, we can feel joy whatever life throws at us.