Paul here commands Christians to rejoice in the Lord always. At first glance this might seem strange to us. Are we really supposed to rejoice in the Lord always? Is that even possible? What about if a loved one dies? How can we rejoice then? The first thing to keep in mind is that Paul is not really talking about an emotional high. Emotions are fickle, and sometimes can even be changed by what we ate that day. Instead he is referring to an attitude that we need to posses. We need to have a postive attitude, one of thanksgiving and of joy.

This is possible when we remember what it is that we take joy in. Even as Christians we are going to have times in our lives where things go against us. We may lose a job or fail at something we have put a lot of effort into. As mentioned above we may lose someone important in our lives. Things do not always turned out as we plan or even as we like. These things are not what we take joy in, however. Paul does not tell us to just have joy, but to have joy in Christ. Our ability to take the blows that life delivers is because we have Christ. As long as we have Him, we can remain joyful.

This is the great thing about being a Christian. When we place our joy in God, we place it with someone who is constant and faithful. We will never be without Christ. When our joy is in our job, it can and often will let us down. It could be a bad quarter or we may even lose our job. When its with people, they invariably let us down in some form or fashion. If it is in talents, well, rarely are we the best and something, so even that can not give us ultimate fulfillment. But when we take are joy in Christ, we place in something that will never fail us. As long as we maintain our relationship with Him, we can have joy at all times. No matter what life throws our way, we will always have the Lord in our corner. Take joy in that fact.