Rejoice Always

Rejoice always.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NASB)

Isn’t it interesting that when asked for the shortest verse in the Bible, many people remember “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). In contrast, we find today’s verse from Paul exhorting his readers to “rejoice always.” This was not an isolated exhortation to rejoice, though; we find in his letter to the Philippians that twice he calls on them to “rejoice in the Lord” (Philippians 3:1, 4:4).

It made me smile when I researched the Hebrew for “rejoice“; chairō is pronounced khah’ee-ro…which sounds like “cheerio”, a happy wee greeting in Scotland. The definition of chairō being to be full of cheer, calmly happy. The reason why the Christian should rejoice is simply our position in the family of God as one of His children.

He that has God for his portion may constantly exult.” Adam Clarke.

Dear Reader, are you able to rejoice in God your Father today? I know it can be difficult when life is hard; I have known such times myself and forced myself to rejoice and praise God – what an effective medicine for the heart it is!

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Devotional Treasures

About the Author

Devotional Treasures is a daily source of Biblical posts on various sources; they are free to all. These are written by me, Alan Kearns, and are inspired by my own private reading/study of God's Word.

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