15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing,
Philippians 4:3-5
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
How do we “rejoice always”.
Most people are somewhat pessimistic, seeing the glass half empty, or even mostly empty. “O woe is me” is the song we sing so much of the time. Grant it I am not usually that way, I usually see the fuller side and rejoice in what I have. But is it that I have learned to rejoice always, to praise the Lord in all circumstances and not because it is my “personality”. If it is just the personality, then those without that "happy go lucky" bent is off the hook to obey these scriptures. Not so easy those of you who naturally see life in the half empty view point.
"To 'Learn to' have a rejoice always attitude or what I'll call a Worshipful attitude was new idea for me. It came from my devotional last week that said 'Worship is a learned art. It is an attitude of the heart that continually acknowledges God and values His character. It is the ultimate reflection of reality in the mind of the believer. And it is the key to blessing." Chris Tiegreen
The other day I had a very difficult day, one full of adversity to overcome and I was exhausted on my way home. As I drove down Buckeye road to Bay City I reflected on a teaching I had just completed the day before and began to “Hallowed by thy Name”. I went through each of the Jehovah names of God and thanked him for each benefit that Jesus give me. (handout of these are available).
We need to learn to praise him in our daily lives. How do we do that? To learn anything requires effort. To learn anything requires that we think it will benefit us some way to learn it. To do anything requires more effort and continuously DOING something about it.
This is taken from my notes that I taught Wednesday night. After I wrote this down on Tuesday morning. and I was excited in the Lord and it just flowed out. I was tested. I had some of those "x*x*x*" moments of the day. Then I took a walk to my car to put away some boxes... really I was keeping my face from leaking. When I came back to my desk I realize this is just all a test... so I put on some worship music on my computer and practiced what I was about to preach.
Benefits of having a worshipful life:
- Joy always keeps you with a more pleasant attitude with others.
- Peace will be the foundation
- God’s wisdom and direction will flow more easily into your life
- I believe you will be healthier and live longer if you keep a consistent attitude of thanksgiving and praise.
How
- First, decide if you want to learn to rejoice always, and praise.
- Realize the benefits of having a continuous worshipful attitude.
- Make a conscience effort to recognize the attributes of God and when you focus on Him, you will find the problems of the day, the challenges along the way, the little finances or little support will be easier to deal with and the peace of God will umpire your life.
Questions for thought:
- How would you rate your “rejoice always” meter?
- What are some things that keep you from having a worshipful attitude?
- When are the challenges greatest for you to have a worshipful attitude?
- What can you do to overcome during those challenging times?
- What are some benefits of keeping a worshipful attitude?
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