Joy Redefined

In the original language, the word translated “rejoice” in Philippians 4:4 is a verb that means “favorably disposed” or even “leaning towards”. It comes from the same family of words meaning “grace”. The word implies that we somehow our joy in grace. This means the source of joy is grace, and the way joy is maintained is by reminding yourself of grace. Greek lexicons apply the verb by saying it’s the action of delighting in God’s grace, experiencing God’s grace, or being conscious of God’s grace. This is significant to our walk with the Lord because of where else the same word is used. Jesus applies it in a profound way. He says that despite trials of every kind, including persecution, we are to “rejoice and be glad” because of our reward in heaven (Matthew 5:11-12). Alternatively, when the 72 evangelists achieved great ministry “success”, Jesus redefines their joy by decoupling it from visible results. In fact they shouldn’t be rejoicing in their apparent success, but should “rejoice” that their names were written in Heaven (Luke 10:17-20). So grace rules over the hard times and the good times. It trumps circumstances that on the surface look like failure or success.