Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:4-5

Paul was incarcerated with his life hanging in the balance, yet he’s telling the Philippians to rejoice always, and repeating himself for good measure. These saints were hard pressed, but certainly not under arrest.

The key to this “keep-on-doing-this” command is from where such rejoicing is possible; “in the Lord.” If you’re squarely in the center of his will, how can you not rejoice, unless your complaint is you don’t want to be there? Paul was in this place and could rejoice despite his circumstances. This is a key principle in living the Christian life.

It makes it possible to possess the “gentle spirit” Paul wanted his people to release to the general public. This sweet reasonableness and cordiality could only be found in a child of God. However, such magnanimity was never to be at the expense of truth.

Paul could rejoice and exhibit this kind of heart because he anticipated the imminent return of Christ. So should we.