“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7 ESV
Pandemics are no picnic. Many of us are afraid for loved ones, especially those with compromised immune systems. Some of us are afraid for our nation, whose economy is growing weaker every day. Others of us are concerned about our families. We wonder if we’ll be able to get enough groceries or finish school or find childcare or pay the bills.
Joy as a Command
In times when our comfort and security are shaken up, I return to Paul’s words in Philippians 4. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul commands believers in this passage to rejoice. We are ordered to have joy. That’s a pretty remarkable mindset, which is only possible because of the hope we have in the Gospel.
Joy Always
But Paul not only commands us to rejoice. He tells us how often we are to do so - always! At all times and on all occasions. Now, this might seem impossible, especially during a pandemic. Maybe we’re tempted to think Paul wrote these words during a season without hardship – that he couldn't possibly understand the difficulties we're currently facing. But consider the following story in Acts:
“And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,”
Acts 16:23–25 ESV
Paul and Silas were beaten up by a crowd and shackled in prison, not knowing if or when they would be free again. So they did the reasonable thing: they started singing. When it comes to joy, Paul is someone to listen to. When he says to rejoice always, he’s speaking from personal experience.
Coronavirus and Joy
During one of our live streams, Pastor Jamin said that we would be stronger on the other side of this pandemic. That’s true because, while we are impatient and anxious for it to be over so we can return to “normal life,” God is not. He is not in a hurry because He knows exactly what He is doing. Yes, there will be sadness and mourning in this season. People will die. Businesses will fail. Churches, weddings, and funerals will be empty.
But God is working in ways beyond what we can see or understand. So we don’t put our hope in the coronavirus simply going away or having closets full of toilet paper. We put our hope in the character of our sovereign God, who will rule forever in a Kingdom that is not plagued by any virus. Only hope in Him can give us unshakeable joy. We can sing in prisons. We can sing in hospitals. We can sing in our living rooms under quarantine. Because we have been commanded by our good King to rejoice, and we trust Him. Always.
-Mark Siverling