Rejoicing In God

When we learn how to rejoice in God regularly, it prepares us to be content during the worst times. A seminary professor had a serious and unexpected medical condition which put him in the hospital for a long time. Not long after being admitted to the hospital, the hospital chaplain came to visit him. The chaplain asked how he was doing, and he replied, “I’m fine.” The chaplain asked, “Really?” “Yes,” he replied, “I’m totally fine.” “Well,” the chaplain asked, “is there anything I can do for you?” “Yes, will you praise God with me?” The chaplain stared at the professor dumbfounded and then said, “But you’re in the hospital and…,” gesturing to all the systems hooked up to him. The professor replied, “I have the peace of Christ guarding my heart like a powerful army, and for that, I want to praise God.” This is what it looks like to rejoice in God always, and how it can bring us contentment—even in a hospital room.