Rejoice

I’m in the middle of reading Francis Chan’s Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God – which is a phenomenal book. And I came across something that just made me stop in my tracks:

But then there’s that complexing command: “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say again, Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). You’ll notice that it doesn’t end with “…unless you’re doing something extremely important.” No, it’s a command for all of us, and it follows with the charge, “Do not be anxious about anything.” (Philippians 4:6)
That came to me as a staggering realization. But what I realized next was even more staggering.
When I am consumed by my problems – stressed out by my life, my family, my job (Hallee’s note: his job is as a pastor), I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a “right” to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.

WOW.

This had such an impact on me. Outwardly, I tend to be overly calm almost all the time. But inwardly, I’m not always so, nor do I always win the battle of not panicking, worrying, or stressing. I succumb to tough situations.

I think when things do get hard, or seem impossible, having these verses, coupled with this commentary, to fall back on will be an invaluable tool.