Rejoice Always!

 One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 16: rejoice always. This can also be interpreted as being joyful.

What does it mean to live a life of joy? I remember what I felt like seeing the birth of my children. It was a feeling that I really cannot put into words.

It could be described as joy, yet it really wasn’t quite joy. It was more of a feeling of happiness. What is the difference?

Happiness is a feeling that comes and then leaves after a while. I felt really happy seeing my children born, then after a while reality set in with the raising of my children. Most of this has given me positive feelings, but there have been ups and downs.

Joy on the other hand is a feeling that never goes away. This can only happen if we live a life with God continually with us. When sorrows happen, we can search for something good in that event. This requires trusting God.

During these times of sorrow are the hardest times to feel joy. I do not believe we can just say “give it all to God” and then instantly we will feel better or the circumstance will get better. We have to first deal with the negative emotion(s) and then gradually let God take over. Only then will it all turn into joy.

Even though we all have our high emotions and our low emotions, most of our days are more even- keeled, going through the daily activities we all go through. If we are conscious of God’s presence and rejoice always, then we will find joy in the ordinary day-by-day living.

How do we live a life conscious of God’s presence? The best way is to pray. Since prayer is communication with God, praying will bring us closer to God . Then the joy that can only truly come from God will be a part of us.

So rejoice always!

Deacon John Stodola