Other times it's more like a choice. "I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:4 or "I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul." Psalm 31:7
What about when it's more like a chore? When you're having a bad day, when you're sick in bed, when something bad has just happened to someone you love. How do you rejoice then? Is it still a command. Yeah, the command to rejoice doesn't come with the condition of rejoice when you feel like it. Or only rejoice when things are going well. It's a one word command- rejoice. There's no out with this one.
But what about when things are are hard and you don't want to make that choice. It still is a choice, a much harder choice but still yours to choose. You can choose to rejoice or choose to complain. So which do you do?
James 1:2-3 says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
This is when rejoicing goes beyond just being a command. It becomes a hard choice and definitely falls under the category of chore. It's something you need to do, that you don't want to do but if you don't do it there's always consequences.
James says to rejoice not just sometimes but whenever you face trials. And not just the easy trials like being sick with cold, but trials of many kinds. But he doesn't leave it at that. There's a purpose in those trials, they develop perseverance and they test your faith. As your faith is tested it becomes stronger and so do you.
So whether it's the easy choice or a chore today I want to remind you that it's still a command. Rejoice.
"This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118: 24
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