Tyler is teething. I had heard many other mom’s experiences with teething babies–that some babies don’t mind it at all and one day a tooth pops out while others cry and agonize over it for days before it breaks out. Tyler is the latter. He has his usual great days, followed by one really bad day of crying and gumming on his fingers. Poor little guy. Last Saturday was like this and today has been like this. He just wants to be held and comforted. I’m happy to oblige but after whole days of this I start to feel down because on these days I don’t get much done and don’t feel very productive. Then today during Tyler’s morning nap I read Philippians 4 and verse 4 nailed me.

“Rejoice in the Lord always.
Again I will say, rejoice.”

Paul doesn’t give any qualifications for rejoicing. He doesn’t imply that I only have to do so when my house is clean, my husband is having a good day and my child is an angel. There are no conditions because my rejoicing isn’t in any of the things going on around me it’s in the Lord. At women’s Bible study yesterday we talked about James 1:17 where James writes that God never changes. With Him there is “no variation or shadow of turning.” That is why rejoicing in Him always makes sense. He is not like our fluctuating circumstances or people. Because God never changes I can always have joy no matter what is going on around me.

I think the Lord is trying to make a point because later today I pulled out a little daily devotional book by John MacArthur called Truth For Today and the verse for today was Philippians 4:4. I was speechless! MacArthur writes–

We can’t always rejoice in our circumstances or other people because both can be bad. However, we can rejoice in the Lord because He is always good and we know He never changes. Thus, our spiritual stability directly relates to our knowledge of God. That’s why the Psalms were written in poetic form and meter and set to music–so the people of Israel could memorize Scripture and sing hymns to deepen their knowledge of God. Knowing Him helps us live above our circumstances and provides stability….Knowing Him makes everything else seem less significant.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.”

Psalm 28:7