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The invisible rolling of eyes. The palpitating heartbeats. The compulsion to pretend like the good news were not seen. The search for loopholes to ensure that the good news are facades or don’t last for long. The silent ‘God when will it be my turn’ conversations….are some of the reactions that a person struggling to rejoice with another may exude.

How do I know? I’m a survivor of this bondage. Yes, folks! It’s a bondage. Let’s call it as it is.

Romans 12 vs 15a says…..

Rejoice with those who rejoice….[NIV]

Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy….[MSG]

When others are happy, you should be happy with them…[ERV]

When we read Romans 12, we get the understanding of how a believer is supposed to relate with God and man. So when Paul was urging the Romans to rejoice with those who rejoice, he was just comprehensively expanding on the fruits of the commandment: Love thy neighbor as thyself. Rejoicing with those who rejoice comes from a place [heart] of true love. As an ex-non-rejoicer, [Pardon the impulsive coinage] I can boldly tell you that you have not known and experienced true love till you can rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn [part 2 coming soon].

Am I putting up this post to castigate anyone? No! This post is coming from a place of love, because I have dined with this bondage and I know how it robbed me of blessings and joy, and I know that the Holy Spirit will use this post to set anyone struggling free.

WHY CAN’T I REJOICE WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE?

• You do not know who you are. Most times why we are not able to be happy with those that are happy is because we have not come to knowledge of our identity. A person may know that he/she is a child of God, but it is possible that this child of God does not know inheritance in being a child of God. The joys. The blessings. The peculiarity…When a person understands who he/she is, there is the assimilation of the fact that as unique as DNAs are, so are the paths of individuals. When there’s this understanding of identity, a lady is able to see another lady advancing career-wise/marital-wise/academic-wise and is able to share in the joy, knowing that the manifestation of God’s work in the celebrant’s life gives hope to her expectations.
• You do not know your Father well enough.A person cannot rejoice with those who rejoice because this person has not come into the full understanding of who God is. How can a person come into full understanding of who God is? By studying His DNA-the Bible. The Bible entails a lot, and I mean a lot of promises of what God has promised[emphasis] His children; knowing and studying the capability and prowess of God, should be able to keep you away from belittling yourself to being that jealous lady or man.
  

  Source- Google!

Jeremiah 29:11 [MSG] says I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

• You are proud. Proud? How? Bob is your friend. You both are architecture students. There is an assignment that was handed in, and upon return; Bob had 76%, you had 60%. In your delusional heart of hearts, you believe Bob is not that bright enough to get that mark. Are you not the one that taught him how to measure some structures in the last assignment? Because of this highly thinking of yourself, you smile with Bob when he shares the good news but you will not ask him what he did. You won’t find out what he did better than you, in order to work on that for the future. This attitude only takes a man down.Nobody knows everything, if you see someone doing well, ask them how they achieve such results. Learn and learn. If you cannot rejoice with them, how can you approach them? Except in pretence [Which isn’t advisable]

Solomon meant business when he said; ‘First, pride, then the crash- the bigger the ego, the harder the fall’. Proverbs 16:18 [MSG].

• You have not been honest and transparent with your Father. Let’s just say maybe it’s your first time reading a post on here, so I will just repeat my philosophy: Being a Christian is not so much about what I do, but most importantly how I fellowship with God. Do not get me wrong, serving people for God’s sake is great, but my fellowship with God is my priority and it should be the same for every believer. So a person that has fellowship with God, understands that he/she does not take a break from God for a second. He/she does not get involved or be in a state of mind that does not allow the Spirit of God to dwell in. An honest and transparent relationship with God means that EVERYTHING that tickles you, worries you etc goes before God. Nothing is too little, when it comes with conversing with God. Remember this post?

I WANT TO REJOICE WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE

• Hate the feeling of jealousy. You will agree with me that 90% of the times, when we despise a situation, we work towards changing it; as long as it’s in our power to do such. A sincere hatred of the feeling of jealousy, envy and the likes; is a good place to start, for the required change.
• Pray to God with sincerity. I believe in honest, simple prayers. Don’t come to God showing your linguistic prowess. NO! Telling God how you feel and what you want Him to do, is a key step in the right direction to rejoicing with the celebrants. Also, asking God for a heart like His, is one powerful prayer that performs wonders.
• Be firm when a little fox raises its head. Don’t think the battle is a one-off, just the same way, taking a bath on Monday cannot suffice for the week. A one-off prayer won’t make the feeling disappear. There are times when you will have to speak to the devil aggressively and take authority over your emotions. Don’t be lackadaisical when it comes with dealing with sin.
• Keep your eyes on Jesus.Anytime, we move away from our source-God, we are prone to darts from the enemy. If you find yourself, feeling sad because the celebrant is not you, then you have taken your eyes off Jesus. You are now more conscious of earthly things [temporal] over heavenly things. If Social Media is what is planting the seeds of jealousy/unhappiness, get off social media, till you are whole. Mark 9 vs 47 says ‘And if your eyes causes you to sin, pluck it out’. Spend time with Jesus and get the reassurance of His purpose for your life.
  

  Source-Google!

WHAT IF I DO NOT WANT TO REJOICE WITH THOSE THAT ARE REJOICING?

I do not think anyone will like to take this position- not rejoicing with those who rejoice. Just in case, someone is curious to know the danger of not rejoicing with those who rejoice; read 2 Samuel 6 vs 16-23. Michal, the daughter of Saul, despised David in her heart because of the way He rejoiced when the ark was entering the City of David.

Personally, I believe that one of the reasons she felt like that was the fact that the ark was returned during David’s reign, [My personal thoughts- She may have compared her father’s reign and David’s reign; and how much victory David had achieved] and the other reason being his dance in front of the slave girls. Unfortunately for her, the consequence of her not rejoicing with the ‘celebrant’[David]; was barrenness for the rest of her life.

Barrenness in manifestation in the times we live in, won’t just be childlessness; it will result in being unfruitful in every sphere of a person’s life. Stagnancy. Nothing to rejoice over. Apart from barrenness, a person who cannot rejoice with those who rejoice, gives room for a critical spirit to dwell in him/her. Such a person takes their eyes off the good and looks for the negatives/loopholes. Having a critical spirit is deadly. Can you imagine living a life never appreciating anything good, but seeking out the wrongs? God forbid!

Beloved, there is a mystery of transfer of blessings when we rejoice with those who rejoice. If it were not important, it won’t be mentioned in the Bible.

So, choose this day to rejoice with those who rejoice. God help us all. Amen!

Expect part 2 of this post in due time- Help! I cannot mourn with those who mourn

P.S Please add spice to the above ‘meal’, I need your ‘seasonings’ in the comments section.

PT QUOTE OF THE DAY

Loving like Jesus opens our understanding to appreciate His blessings in another’s life.

Godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain. I Timothy 6:6 AMP

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Princess Okechukwu!