“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” — Philippians 4:4
Sounds simple, right? But let’s be honest: we don’t always rejoice in the Lord.
Sometimes (maybe often), we rejoice in… stuff.
A raise. A new phone. A house upgrade. An Amazon delivery.
We call it a “blessing,” and sure, those things aren’t bad. But when they become our source of joy, that’s when things start going sideways.
When Getting Things Becomes the Goal
Ever get something you really wanted and feel so good for a moment… but then a few days later, you’re already looking for the next thing?
You’re not alone.
Mark Manson puts it perfectly:
“Studies show that while we might feel an uptick in happiness when life takes a turn for the better, we soon level out to our normal baseline mood. And even if, hypothetically, we were able to remove every unpleasant thing from our lives, we wouldn’t stop seeing problems – we’d only become more sensitive to smaller things that never bothered us before.”
Oof. That hits.
We think, “If I just get this one thing, I’ll be at peace.”
But once we get it, we adjust. The joy fades. We move the goalpost.
And now we’re stuck in what I like to call the joy hamster wheel — always running, never arriving.
Paul’s Joy Wasn’t Circumstantial
Here’s the thing: Paul wrote Philippians from prison.
No gourmet coffee, no weekend getaways, no five-step morning routine.
And yet, he’s the one telling us to rejoice.
Not in what we have.
Not in what’s going right.
In the Lord.
That means our joy is rooted in something (Someone) unchanging. Jesus isn’t a variable. He doesn’t run out of stock. His grace doesn’t wear off in 72 hours. His peace doesn’t require perfect circumstances. His love doesn’t have fine print.
Final Thought
If you’re tired of running on the joy hamster wheel, here’s the invitation:
Rejoice in the Lord. Again. And again. And again.
He’s the only source that never runs dry.
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