How do you feel about the impossible commands in the Bible?

Be perfect.

Don’t be angry with your brother.

Pray without ceasing.

Give thanks in everything.

Impossible! Laughably impossible, right?!?

Am I the only one? Please tell me you’re with me!

One of the impossible commands in the Bible is to “rejoice always.” Let’s be honest, life is way too hard to be happy all the time. It’s much easier to be sad, angry or discouraged.

But joy is not the equivalent of happiness. If it were, the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to “rejoice always” really would be ridiculous. It is impossible to constantly be happy. It’s overwhelming just thinking about making the effort. I would have to somehow orchestrate my entire life just to be happy because, unlike joy, happiness is determined by our circumstances.

As a pastor friend of mine once said, “Joy is that deep-down, unstoppable delight that is not held captive by the circumstances of life.”

This is what we’re called to experience and live out. Joy, constantly. Rejoicing, always.

To rejoice always is about rejoicing without interruption. To keep rejoicing when your team wins the championship at the buzzer or when they get crushed by a hated rival. Our ability to rejoice rises above the surface of our situations because it is rooted in a place that is much deeper than our situations can even touch.

Paul tells us to rejoice, even in the midst of difficult situations. And because he gives this command we must consider that it is not really an impossible request. Difficult, maybe, but there must be some good reasons why we can choose to always rejoice.

I think I’ve found at least three good reasons:

1) We can rejoice always because in joy we find identity with Christ.

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you also may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”  — 1 Peter 4:13

The temptation to give up on joy in the midst of challenging situations probably never goes away. But we can find a partner in suffering who never caved. His joy remained all the way through the cross. Do not be discouraged in the midst of suffering, for you are identified with Christ. Not only that, since Jesus has risen from the grave, we also share in his resurrection. We can rejoice because death has lost and we are identified with him in his victory over the grave.

2) We can rejoice always because in joy we find strength in the face of circumstances.

“…and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” — Nehemiah 8:10 

The people in Nehemiah’s day were overwhelmed with emotion after hearing the words of God read to them. But Nehemiah saw the day as an opportunity to experience gladness and joy rather than sadness and mourning. He believed the best way for them to find the strength to move forward was to find joy in the Lord. In our moment of weakness it’s easy to turn to laziness, or anger or our own baggage as an excuse.  The scriptures say the best way to find strength is to rejoice instead.

3) We can rejoice always because in joy we find a taste of what’s to come.

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy.” — Psalm 126:1-2

The Psalmist paints a picture of what is and what’s to come. We are the dreamers of a fully realized joy because we have tasted joy here and now. We have seen it carry us through situations that prove joy is not held captive by the circumstances of life.  We’ve known joy through of a relationship that is present when times are good and bad. We’ve experienced joy in the midst of death because we know the end of the story. These glimmers of what will be enable us to rejoice in the now.

Be encouraged and find strength. It might seem like an impossible thing to do but it’s not. You can rejoice at all times because the source of your joy is greater than the situation you face!