Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Would people say you’re a positive or negative sort of person? Our attitude is something we have control over. We can choose to react positively to situations, or we can choose to be negative. Paul wrote, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!’ At the time of writing this, Paul was in prison in Rome. It seems amazing that someone who had been placed in prison because of his faith, was able to give such positive advice. We might have expected him to have been despondent, miserable, scared, or have even begun to doubt God. But he remained positive, grateful to God, and able to encourage others. The people Paul was writing to weren’t in prison. They were Christians in Philippi. We don’t know their circumstances, but we know they were able to send money to Paul while he was in prison (this was the reason Paul was writing to them). Paul’s situation was probably worse, yet he took the time to encourage these Christians. He even repeated himself, ‘Again I will say, rejoice!’, to emphasise his point. We often forget that we should be rejoicing in all of our circumstances and end up back in negativity so quickly. That’s because our eyes are usually focused on the things in front of us – on the problems, the hurt, the sadness. But God calls us to lift our eyes and focus on Him. When we shift our gaze we can’t help but rejoice, because we see how incredible God is and how small our situations seem compared to Him. So will you take Paul’s advice today and rejoice in the Lord always?

What Now?

Every time you have a negative thought today, counteract it by thinking of something positive in your life and thanking God for that blessing.