In Philippians 4:4 Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice”
To some folks the gathering at Thanksgiving can cause folks anxiety but listen as Paul tells the Philippian believers how to rid themselves of the stinky odor of anxiety between people as he says to “rejoice in the Lord”. Joy is a choice and no one can steal your joy, only you can give it up!
Everything and everyone that comes into your life, (even those irritating folks and unpleasant disagreements) are allowed by the Lord to reveal something to you about your own heart and give you an opportunity to grab hold of Jesus!
Notice that Paul isn’t saying that you need to “rejoice in the situation” or “rejoice in the unpleasantness of disagreements”; no he is saying that you can always “rejoice in the Lord”. Ok pastor what about when you get angry with this person and they continue to harass you over and over.
Well remember that underneath you, undergirding your life is Jesus, He is holding you together so grab hold of Him and allow Him to move you off of anger to the place of peace and joy and remain standing fast upon Him. I’m saying that you can’t, but I am saying that Jesus can, so take a grip and stand firm.
Now notice that Paul says, “Again I say rejoice”! I think Paul understood that even after we do this when people are causing us anxiety that we can begin to “slip” back into this very quickly so we will need to be resetting ourselves back into joy. Paul doesn’t say, “Well if rejoicing in the Lord doesn’t work try_____________.” Instead he says, “When you begin to slip back into anxiety because of people, repeat the first step as often as needed!”