{"id":1092,"date":"2025-12-29T00:08:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T08:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/?p=1092"},"modified":"2025-12-26T19:34:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T03:34:39","slug":"dec-29-new-year-countdown-day-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/dec-29-new-year-countdown-day-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Dec.29\u2014New Year Countdown\u2014Day 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

REJOICE!<\/u><\/em><\/strong>
\n“Rejoice in the Lord always,\u00a0 Again I will say, rejoice!”<\/em> Philippians 4:4
\n(-written while Paul was a prisoner)<\/p>\n

Today’s Thought:
\n<\/u><\/strong>I will, always, in good times and bad, say “Rejoice!”<\/p>\n

Paul is not giving us an option here. He is saying we must choose to rejoice always, no matter what the circumstances are. He was in prison, in chains, and he chose to rejoice.
\nWhy was he so firm about rejoicing?\u00a0 Because he said there was always a reason to rejoice about receiving salvation.\u00a0 Whether he had good days or bad days Paul was always joyful that he had received the forgiveness and salvation of the Lord.<\/p>\n

So, as Paul says, we must make rejoicing a priority every day. There will always be days we don’t feel like it or days when we have every earthly reason not to be joyful, that is why we must choose to rejoice always, as Paul did. As we do our rejoicing it will uplift us and glorify God.<\/p>\n

Even David rejoiced when he was hiding in caves from Saul as he was in fear of his life.\u00a0\u00a0
\nAnd my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His salvation.<\/em>\u00a0 Psalm 35:9
\n(–written while David was seeking vindication from his enemies)<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Action:<\/u><\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0REJOICE!<\/p>\n

REJOICE ALWAYS<\/span>
\nOutward circumstances may be distressing, but inwardly: I will rejoice ALWAYS–Again I will be joyful always!<\/p>\n

REJOICE ANYTIME<\/span>
\nOutward people may treat me unfairly, but inwardly: I will rejoice ANYTIME–Again I will be glad anytime!<\/p>\n

REJOICE ANYPLACE<\/span>
\nOutward the world and life might look grim, but inwardly: I will rejoice ANYPLACE–Again I will be happy anyplace!<\/p>\n

SGLY Ministry
\nwww.smilegodlovesyou.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

REJOICE! “Rejoice in the Lord always,\u00a0 Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (-written while Paul was a prisoner) Today’s Thought: I will, always, in good times and bad, say “Rejoice!” Paul is not giving us an option here. He is saying we must choose to rejoice always, no matter what the circumstances are. He…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1673],"tags":[1872,3,3311,1854,1750,1871,1870,30,32],"class_list":["post-1092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-year-countdown","tag-be-joyful-in-the-lord","tag-daily-devotionals","tag-december-2025","tag-new-year-countdown","tag-philippians-44","tag-psalm-359","tag-rejoice-always","tag-sgly-ministry","tag-smile-god-loves-you"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Rejoice-Phil.-4.4.jpg?fit=375%2C326&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2120,"url":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/march-24-spiritual-vitamin-r-rejoice\/","url_meta":{"origin":1092,"position":0},"title":"March 24–Spiritual Vitamin R: Rejoice","author":"SGLY Devotionals","date":"March 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"SPIRITUAL VITAMIN R : REJOICE \"Rejoice in the Lord, always. 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Again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4 Today's Thought: \"Rejoice always,\" Paul says again in 1Thessalonians 5:16 \"But...that's too hard!\" we say sometimes. \" How can I rejoice when...? \" or \"You don't know what my situation is, I can't rejoice!\" Well, Paul\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "P-O-W-E-R"","block_context":{"text":"P-O-W-E-R","link":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/category\/p-o-w-e-r\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"P-Day27-Philippians-4.4","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Day27-Philippians-4.4.png?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":836,"url":"https:\/\/smilegodlovesyou.org\/devotionals\/standing-on-the-promises-joy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1092,"position":3},"title":"Standing on the Promises: JOY","author":"SGLY Devotionals","date":"October 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A Precious Promise: JOY Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. 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