Rejoice When Reviled

"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." - Matthew 5:12

I have to admit that contrary to Grace, I was excited about this particular command, but,I kinda knew it would make me feel very convicted. You could safely define 'rejoice' as "something Hannah never does." I started to think about this word which occurs over 42 times in the new testament. This was not given by Jesus as an alternative for grief, or as a idea on how to improve your social life, or anything like that. No, this was a command. Jesus commanded those that he taught to rejoice! In Matthew 5:12, we are called to rejoice because we have a great reward waiting for us in heaven. This goes back to the verse that Emily noted on day one:

"Forgetting those things which are behind,and reaching forth unto those things which are before." - Philippians 3:13.

We are not to dwell on the bad things that happened in the past, but rather, reach forward towards the mark of the high calling of Jesus Christ.

"Blessed be God and our Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To and inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." - I Peter 1:3-4

As I started to think about who had fulfilled this command in scripture, my initial thought was Paul. However, as I flipped through Acts, I stopped at Stephen...one of my favorite Bible characters. Stephen has always stood out to me as a man, unafraid of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and bold to preach it. Stephen rejoiced when he was reviled.
" When they (the people) heard these things (Stephen's sermon), they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth; Bet he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus, standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Think about how wonderful it would have been to look up and see the glory of the Lord and Jesus, standing on the right hand of God!This is truly an example of a man who rejoiced, and was exceeding glad because of his reward in heaven. The suffering he endured on earth was momentary. He recognized the eternal joy and treasure that he would benefit from when he reached heaven. He "fell asleep" after asked God not to lay the sin to their charge. Some people believe that "fell asleep" alludes to a painless death. Although we won't know until we get to heaven, we do know that Stephen was a man of great joy. He boasted in the Lord just as King David did. When he was called to be with the Lord, he went praising God.

There are a lot of character qualities we could develop that would help us rejoice in all things. Listed below are some of them with their definitions:

Boldness - Boldness is welcoming any suffering that comes from doing what is right, because it will produce a greater power of love; We are told in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I say rejoice!" Contentment - Contentment is realizing that God has already provided everything I need for my present and future happiness; If we are content, we will be able to rejoice over what God HAS given us verses complain about what we think we lack for our fulfillment in life.

Determination - Determination is looking at insurmountable obstacles as opportunities to cry out for God's supernatural intervention; If we look at difficult situations as an opportunity for God to work a miracle, we will be able to rejoice in the power of our living God instead of murmur over what seems to hard to overtake.

Endurance - Endurance is experiencing the power of God's love by rejoicing in trials and tribulations; this is definitely a quality that we need in our Christian walk!!!!

Enthusiasm - Enthusiasm is God's energy in my spirit, expressing itself through my mind, will, and emotions; This is a good example of what "rejoicing"looks like. When in doubt, read the definition of enthusiasm!

Forgiveness - Forgiveness is responding to offenders so that the power of God's love through me can heal them;The opposite of Forgiveness is Bitterness which zaps all the joy out of us. Bitterness creates a hardened heart. If we are able to fully and freely forgive those who offend us, the power of rejoicing will be made real in our lives.

Gratefulness - Gratefulness is expressing sincere appreciation to God and to others for the ways that they have benefited my life; Our level of gratefulness should be a test as to how often we rejoice. We are to rejoice in ALL things. Therefore, if we are grateful, we will know that our level of discontent has gone down and we are learning to rejoice more frequently over more situations!

Initiative - Initiative is acting on the rhemas that God gives us in His word; I don't know about all of you, but I know that some of you are older sisters or brothers. SO...in light of that, If us older siblings initiate the rejoicing at the beginning of the day, it makes for a whole lot nicer of a morning, afternoon, and evening, and yes, it sets the tone for the entire day! It is vital that we set a good example as older siblings and there are few better places to start than rejoicing.

Joyfulness - Joyfulness is the bright spirit and radiant countenance that come by being in full fellowship with the Lord; do I need to expound on how this relates to rejoicing??? :-)

Patience - Patience is welcoming trials and tribulations without giving God a deadline to remove them.

Sincerity - Sincerity is being as genuine on the inside as we appear to be on the outside; I think we can all agree that there is nothing more detrimental to God's reputation than when outsiders think Christians are hypocrites. It is so important that our joy be real joy...not ours, but God's in us!

In light of all these character qualities that we need to be developing, I would really encourage you to seek the Lord about the areas you are weak and allow him to be strong where you lack. I know for me that the list seems long and overwhelming, but we all need to remember that God's grace is sufficient where we fail.

Lastly, I just wanted to leave you with some scripture verses that go with the command:

"But rejoice in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings! that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy! If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part, he is evil spoken of, but on your part, he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed: but let him glorify God on this behalf."-(I Peter 4:13-16)

"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thinks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you! Quench not the Spirit!"-(I Thess 5:16-19)

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me!"-(II Cor 12:9)

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice! Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."-(Phil 4:4,6)

May God bless you as you seek to serve him and to apply His commands to your life.