But how can we rejoice? We can rejoice and praise God joyfully over many things. For example, if we have passed the gate of victory and power, we can rejoice and praise God joyfully. But the Bible says that we can rejoice in many of the things that we normally do not rejoice in. We can find out from the Bible the kinds of things we can rejoice in.
Second Corinthians 8:2 says, “That in much proving of affliction the abundance of their joy and the depth of their poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” This verse tells us that the Macedonians had the abundance of joy in the midst of much testing and affliction. They did not have one or two drops of joy but the abundance of joy. Brothers and sisters, we have to always rejoice, and we have to have the abundance of joy. Even in the midst of tribulations, we should still rejoice. The life of Christ is a life of victory, and we can boast in His victory. Even when large armies are threatening us and great tribulations are awaiting us, we can still rejoice and praise the Lord. One characteristic of victory is the overflow of praise and thanksgiving in the midst of tribulation.
There is a brother who was a railroad worker. One of his legs was cut off by a passing train in an accident. When he woke up in the hospital after the accident, he was asked whether he could still thank and praise the Lord. He answered, “I thank and praise Him because only one leg was cut off.” Brothers and sisters, even though he encountered tribulation, he was able to thank and praise the Lord. This is the tone of victory. The tone of victory is thanksgiving and praise in the midst of great tribulation.
James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, whenever you fall into various trials.” First Peter 1:6 says, “In which time you exult.” What is this? Verse 8 says, “Whom having not seen, you love; into whom though not seeing Him at present, yet believing, you exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.” In chapter four, verses 12 and 13 say, “Beloved, do not think that the fiery ordeal among you, coming to you for a trial, is strange, as if it were a strange thing happening to you; but inasmuch as you share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice exultingly.” These few passages tell us how we should behave in the days of tribulation. The book of James speaks of “various trials.” This includes the trials that one should face as well as trials that one should not face; they come all at once. Enemies come, friends come, unbelievers come, brothers come, and reasonable as well as unreasonable things come. All kinds of trials come, but these things cannot take away our joy. Please remember that the Bible always qualifies joy with adjectives such as great and full. All of God’s joys are great and full. First Peter 1:6 says that one greatly rejoices, while the grief is but for “a little while” (RSV). Can there be grief? Yes, there can; in fact, grief is unavoidable. While our eyes are here, tears will always come. As long as our tear ducts are here, tears will always come. But even though there may be tears, there is also rejoicing. Hence, 1 Peter 1:8 speaks of “joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.” There is no way to describe this joy. Many times, while our tears are still wet, we are already shouting, “Hallelujah!” Many times, while tears are still rolling, our mouths are thanking and praising God. Many people have tears that are mingled with their thanksgiving and praises. Miss M. E. Barber wrote a hymn with one line which says, “Let the spirit praise Thee, / Though the heart be riven” (Hymns, #377). While we live on earth today, our heart cannot help but be riven at times. The heart has its feelings, yet the spirit can still praise the Lord. First Peter 4:12 says that we should rejoice not only in the midst of trials, but also in anticipation of the trials. This means that we should welcome the trials and say, “Praise and thank the Lord, the trials are here again.”
Some brothers raise their eyebrows as soon as trials come to them. They murmur, “Here they are again!” But Peter told us to thank God joyfully that they are here again. Whenever we praise and thank the Lord, we are above the trials. Nothing can put us above the temptations, circumstances, and difficulties more than joy, thanksgiving, and praise. This is the proper tone of victory; it is expressed in an overcomer.
A sister in Chefoo who entered the overcoming experience was under severe trials. Her daughter died within a matter of hours, and her husband was away in a distant place. When the daughter died, the brothers and sisters went over to comfort her. Although her eyes were full of tears, her face was full of joy. She said, “Thank and praise the Lord. Although I do not understand why my child is dead, I am still full of joy.” The brothers and sisters tried to comfort her; instead, she comforted them. Such joy cannot be fabricated. Victory is maintained by this kind of tone. One can still praise the Lord joyfully in the midst of trials.
Let me say a word that might not appeal to you: Christians are a pattern to others on earth. God has placed us on earth as a pattern to others. If we weep when others weep and become frustrated when others are frustrated, we will become the same as everyone else. Where then is our victory? We should show the world that in the midst of these matters, we have joy and strength. We may appear crazy to them, but they will hunger after the Christ who makes us so “crazy.” May the Lord be gracious to us so that we will express the victory of Christ in the midst of tribulations.
Matthew 5:11-12 says, “Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me. Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens.” When others reproach us, we may endure it; when they persecute us, we may not speak back. But enduring and shutting up are not enough. If we only endure and shut up, we are already defeated. The world can endure and shut up as well. The monks can do the same, and so can the scholars of Confucius. We should be different from them. When others reproach us, we should be able to say, “Praise and thank the Lord.” We should consider it a joy that others reproach us. When others persecute us, we should thank and praise the Lord and consider this a matter of joy. If our victory is a genuine victory, we should rejoice and exult. If victory merely means suffering reproach, it is just human work. Human work results in suppression, while every work of the Lord results in joy and exultation.
Brothers and sisters, the test is in our tone. The greatest mistake today is that man considers endurance to be the greatest virtue. When others reproach us, can we rejoice greatly? When others reproach us, are we merely looking at the floor and shutting our mouth? There are many people who experience persecution. There are many sisters who are persecuted by their husbands. Many people experience slanders and lies. What do they do? They pray that the Lord would keep them from losing their temper or becoming angry with others. They think that as long as they do not lose their temper and do not blow up, they have overcome. But have they really overcome? It is true that they have the victory, but it is not the victory that the Lord gives. If it is the Lord’s victory, they can thank and praise the Lord greatly in the midst of the reproach and persecution. Let me repeat: Whenever we find that we cannot thank and praise the Lord, we are defeated already. The tone of victory is thanksgiving and praise.
There was a man who sat on a tram beside a great enemy of his. This man was a brother, and he prayed to the Lord, saying, “Lord, keep me.” While he prayed, he maintained a nice attitude and even conversed with his enemy on subjects like the news and sports. But within him, he was constantly praying that the Lord would cause his enemy to get off the tram before he did and that the Lord would keep him overcoming all the way. Finally, after much struggling, he arrived at his destination and got off the tram. He sighed a long sigh of relief and said, “I have overcome.” But what kind of victory is this? This is a cheating victory, a man-made victory, and an empty victory. If it had been God’s victory, there would have been no need to ask the Lord to keep him or help him endure. He would have needed to say only, “God, I thank and praise You that You have put me here. Since You have put me here, it does not matter whether You leave me here for a longer time.”
Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” In describing joy, the Bible uses either the word great, full, or always. Always means “all the time.” Paul was saying, “Have you heard this word? If you have not heard it yet, let me repeat it for you: ‘Again I will say, rejoice.’” If we did not get it yet, he would repeat it once more—that we should rejoice. The life that God gives is a life of joy. Rejoicing is the daily life of a Christian. There may be tribulations and trials, but there is still rejoicing. The opposite of rejoicing is being anxious. Many people are anxious for their children, their money, or their business. But the Word of the Lord says, “In nothing be anxious” (Phil. 4:6). We think that anxiety is justified, but the Lord says, “In nothing be anxious.” This is because we should always rejoice.
If we do not rejoice for a day, we have sinned that day. Once a brother was preaching at a conference on being anxious in nothing. When a sister heard this, she was very angry. She thought, “How can a person not be anxious? If the brothers would be a little more anxious, they could serve us better food.” (The brothers were the ones taking care of the food during that conference.) But the Lord could not let her go. She eventually saw that anxiety is a sin, and she overcame.
I can say much more about this subject. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “I am well pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions and distresses.” Paul rejoiced in weaknesses, insults, necessities, persecutions, and distresses. Brothers and sisters, we do not know what will befall us. We do know, however, that while we are living on this earth, our circumstances will not always go our way. Some are sick; others have family members who are sick. Some have relatives who are dying, and others are facing persecution. What are we going to do? We may say, “Lord, I will endure,” but saying that means that we have failed. If we say, “Lord, I thank and praise You,” we will be victorious and Christ will be manifested in us. We will provide the Lord a chance to manifest His power, and we will rejoice. This is our daily life on earth. We should rejoice and thank and praise the Lord all the time.
First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks.” We should give thanks in everything. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” These two passages of the Scriptures encompass everything. Whatever we have missed in the other passages is included in these two verses. I thank and praise the Lord. I can say, “Hallelujah.” Others may wonder what is happening to us, but we can give thanks in everything and praise the Lord for everything. Brothers and sisters, if we do this, we will prevail over every temptation, and we will withstand every trial. No tribulation or trial will touch us. Those who go this way will find the strength for their temptations. We can thank and praise the Lord for temptations because we have obeyed the Lord.
Some may think that I am against endurance. Endurance is precious, and it is right to endure. However, the kind of endurance we want is not an endurance that comes by gritting our teeth. Colossians 1:11 says, “Unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy.” We endure and suffer with joy. This is not an unwilling or bitter endurance. The daily tone of the Christian life is one of endurance and long-suffering with joy. In everything we give thanks, and in everything we offer praise. This is a life in the third heavens.
Why must the overcoming life be manifested in rejoicing? Why must we rejoice before we can say that we have the overcoming life? Romans 8:37 says, “But in all these things we more than conquer.” God gives only one kind of victory, the victory that more than conquers. Any victory that barely makes it is not a victory from the Lord. The victory that the Lord gives is the victory that more than conquers. The victory that barely makes it and barely carries us over the top is not a victory at all. The Lord’s victory is always one that more than conquers, and the only way to have the victory that more than conquers is by rejoicing.
Brothers and sisters, our cup is running over. Everything that God gives runs over. Anything that does not run over is not from God. The kind of victory that God gives is “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And to him who wishes to sue you and take your tunic, yield to him your cloak also; and whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matt. 5:39-41). The victory that runs over is God’s victory. Barely overcoming is a man-made victory; it is the product of human effort.
Brothers and sisters, this is the tone of victory. May God open our eyes to see that any victory that does not more than conquer is just an imitation victory. While we are suppressing and wrestling, we are only imitating victory. If Christ lives in us, we will rejoice in everything, and we will thank and praise the Lord. We will say, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord,” forever.