There are far more than eleven reasons to rejoice in the Lord, but I found a list of Bible verses for readers to look up (in Dr. David Jeremiah’s study Bible). I looked up and printed all the verses, so we can enjoy them together. While some of my posts have been serious, today is a time to rejoice, so please come and rejoice with me.
We can rejoice in God’s word. Jesus said, in Matt. 13:20, “The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.” But we don’t want to be like those people rejoicing, because Jesus clarifies the insincerity of their temporary joy in Luke 8:13, “The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.” As true Christians, we want to rejoice, because God’s word is a treasure!
We rejoice at Jesus’ birth the way the wise men did in Matt. 2:10, “When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!” I looked up Luke chapters 1-2, and there are so many reasons to rejoice. God gave infertile Elizabeth a baby, and with her husband Zachariah, they rejoiced. Mary rejoiced with Elizabeth when she supernaturally knew Mary was carrying the Messiah. The angels rejoiced to announce the King of kings, and then the shepherds rejoiced to see the newborn King of kings. Simeon and Anna rejoiced to meet baby Jesus when Mary and Joseph brought him to the Temple for his circumcision.
We join the common people as they rejoice at Jesus’ miracles in Luke 13:17, “This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.”
Now that Jesus is no longer suffering, we rejoice in Jesus’ suffering as we see in 1 Peter 4:13, “Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.”
We join those who rejoice at Jesus resurrection in Matt. 28:8, “The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.” We rejoice with what is likely a married couple, Mary and her husband Cleopas (also called Clopas, as mentioned at Jesus cross when his wife Mary stood watching Jesus suffer) in Luke chapter 24, as they walk along the road to Emmaus. Then we rejoice with the disciples who hear about this couple’s walk to Emmaus with Jesus. We rejoice with the disciples who cry in John 16:20, but Jesus promises their sorrow will change: “You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.” Jesus predicted his resurrection when the disciples would rejoice—as they did!
We rejoice over the Gospel as John did in 3 John 1:3, “Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth.” Paul also rejoiced over the Gospel in Phil. 1:18, “But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.”
We rejoice over God’s forgiveness as Jesus tells us to in Matt. 18:13, “And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!” Jesus adds more in Luke 15:6-10, “When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” Paul adds even more in 2 Cor. 7:9, “Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way.”
We rejoice in the Holy Spirit, and yes I mean the Holy Spirit brings us joy! Look at Romans 14:17, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Paul adds more in Gal.5:22-23. “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” And the Holy Spirit gives us joy, as Paul explains in 1 Thess. 1:6, “So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.”
We rejoice in God’s people, as we see in Phil.2:2, “Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.” Paul found joy in the people of the churches he planted, as in 1 Thess. 2:20 when he tells them, “Yes, you are our pride and joy.” And he tells them more in Phil. 3:9, “How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.”
We rejoice over God’s vengeance. That may sound terrible, but consider angry murderers who are happy they killed innocent people and then you will realize that God must avenge such evil. Then read Rev. 18:20, “Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and Apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes.”
We rejoice in Jesus’ glory. Paul explains this in Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
Remember, this list came from Pastor David Jeremiah’s study Bible (and he made me look up all those verses–he only listed their names and numbers), but you can have a far greater list of reasons why you rejoice. Why would we write down our reasons to rejoice? First, we write them down while we are happy and enjoying these gifts. But second, we write down our personal reasons to rejoice, so we can look at that list when we are suffering and discouraged. Satan wants us to obsess over hard experiences in our lives. He wants us to believe we are not strong enough to survive. He wants us to think we are a burden to others, so we do not ask them for help. He wants our fatigue to make cowards of us so we isolate ourselves and think we cannot accomplish our responsibilities. Yet a bit of good food, rest and time in our Bibles and with godly friends will revive us and then our huge to-do list seems tolerable (or the Lord shows us we do not need to do everything on that list). Then we realize we can rejoice in that food, rest, Bible and group of friends who do help us.
So please enjoy this list and then make your own list. You can include Bible verses, and you can include reasons to rejoice that are personal and do not include a Bible verse. When you thank God and rejoice in his blessings, you are worshiping him. Thank you for rejoicing with us in today’s post!