One of the most exciting and yet most challenging verses for many Christians is Philippians 4:4. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” It is the word “always” that trips the panic button of many Christians who say, “I can’t do that! How can I possibly rejoice all the time?”
Take a moment and look at how Paul used the phrase “in the Lord” in other places in his letter to the Philippian church. “The brethren in the Lord…are much more bold” (1:14). “I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy” (2:19, 24). “Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness” (2:29). “Stand fast in the Lord” (4:1). “Be of the same mind in the Lord” (4:2). “Rejoice in the Lord…Rejoice in the Lord always…I rejoiced in the Lord greatly” (3:1; 4:4, 10).
The key to the rejoicing in 4:4 is the phrase “in the Lord.” God’s command is not, “Rejoice always.” (Even Jesus had moments when He was not rejoicing.) God’s command is, “Rejoice always in the Lord” (i.e., rejoice in your relationship with the Lord as a Christian!).