Rejoicing

I have slowly been reading a book by John Piper called The Dangerous Duty of Delight: The Glorified God and the Satisfied Soul. (By slow I mean reading little sections at a time.) It has been a great read thus far. It has given me much t meditate on throughout the day. There's a verse I learned growing up that says "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice" Philippians 4:4 ESV. We are to constantly pursue joy. This is not an option it is a command. I have never really dwelt on the depth of this verse until reading book. If it wasn't an important thing for us to do God would not have repeated it ("...again I will say rejoice"). That is hard for me to grasp. As I think about friends who are watching their loved ones suffering with pain from cancer it is hard for me to grasp sometimes "rejoicing in the Lord always". What I'm learning is that when we rejoice or pursue joy in God we become satisfied and God is glorified. "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" (John Piper). We are created for His glory. I find myself being convicted in many ways as I continue to read this book.

(More to come)