Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

What do we have to be thankful for? Everything!

Resolve always to rejoice in the Lord.

Paul himself was a good example of what he was advocating. As he wrote these, words, he was in prison. He was not on a retreat in a chalet in the south of France. He was imprisoned. There is a sense in which this exhortation in scripture ought to be so obvious as scarcely to be needed. Without question, surely every redeemed person should want to rejoice.

Our circumstances are not the focus of our rejoicing.

Our core rejoicing focus should be on the forgiveness of sins. Imagine forgiveness of all of our sins before the God who is our judge. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit, the down payment of the promised inheritance, and the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ.

If our hearts fail to respond with joy and gratitude when we think of the most fundamental Christian truths, it is because we have not really grasped the depth of the abyss of our own self-focus, our own sinful natures, and our own danger apart from Him.

Rejoicing is not a certain style of joy, whether it is more boisterous and demonstrative, or calm and organized. We are to distinguish not different styles of joy, but authentic and inauthentic rejoicing; and that is difficult to discern. The exhortation is much more bound up with the genuineness of the rejoicing. The focus is on why we are rejoicing, not a particular style. Be careful. Sooner or later, each of us can become so enmeshed and ensnared in our own self-focus, entangled in our own sin, that we cannot see clearly the need to rejoice.

Learning to rejoice does not mean there are no tears, or grief. It means that despite all of the vicissitudes of life we will ever face on this side of the new heaven and the new earth, when our confidence is anchored in the living God, we can look to Him even in the midst of tear-bleary eyes and rejoice in Him.

The Bible teaches us God is sovereign and good.

It also teaches us the world is awful. Yet, still in the midst of this evil universe, God still reigns and works out the perfections of His will—until one day, in a new heaven and a new earth, there will be no more tears and no more sorrow.

God has commanded that we rejoice in the Lord because He well knows that a believer who is rejoicing in the Lord cannot simultaneously be a backbiter, nor a gossip, nor spiritually proud, nor filled with conceit, nor: stingy, haughty, self-absorbed, prayerless, a chronic whiner, nor endlessly unbelieving.

On the contrary, the believer who practices rejoicing in the Lord discovers:
Peace in the midst of heartache, rest in the midst of tension, love in the midst of loneliness, and the
presence of God in control of the most difficult circumstances.

Resolve not to be anxious about anything, but to learn to pray.

Philippians 4:6:a Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

At the end of the day, this peace we have is not because of some magical power in the meditative quality of praying. It’s because of the One to whom we pray! We are giving our burdens to Him, and we are trusting God.

Resolve to learn the secret of contentment.

Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

Some of us think we only have to learn the secret of contentment when we have little, but that just isn’t
the case. When you have more, you always want more. Sometimes you suddenly come into a situation
where you’ve had little, but now you have more, and you’re really frustrated and guilty there too.
So it applies throughout the whole spectrum.

Peter talks about rejoicing because of the things that last forever.

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

Gratitude is not Weakness

Some argue that thankfulness before Jesus shows what an inferior, sappy, emotional, weak religion
Christianity is. They say the traditional understanding of the cross of Christ has become inoperative on
every level. These same people believe constant gratitude, which the story of the cross encourages,
creates only weakness, childishness and dependency.

You say rejoicing encourages weakness, not exactly.
Rejoicing encourages being strong in a way that makes God look good. Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so
worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire
Hebrews. 12:28–9