Paul was in prison when he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Around him was the cruelty of men, but within him was the Kingdom of God. How is such joy possible? Paul gives us the key: “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Child of God, there are things we see that the world doesn’t. Paul was saying, “You can lock me up, but you can’t keep me in. Outside these bars Caesar rules, but in here, Jesus is Lord, and when my assignment is complete, I’m out of here. Go ahead, take your best shot. Beat me, imprison me, behead me, but one second after the ax falls, I’ll be more alive than I am now.”
There’s nothing you can do to a man like that, He’s beyond your reach. Paul was saying, “This is the best it will ever be for you, but you ought to see where I’m going. “
“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” (2 Corinthians 5:1, NL T). That’s a God-altered perspective. Praise Him today, not because of what you feel, but because of what you know and you’ll have a joy that transcends anything that comes against you.
