1 Thessalonians 5:16,18 AMP REJOICE ALWAYS AND DELIGHT IN YOUR FAITH; [18] in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] BE THANKFUL AND CONTINUALLY GIVE THANKS TO GOD ; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 5:18-20 NASB …be continually filled with the Spirit, [19] speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and MAKING MELODY WITH YOUR HEART TO THE LORD; [20] ALWAYS GIVING THANKS FOR ALL THINGS in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
Colossians 2:6-7 AMP Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin], [7] having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established in your faith, just as you were taught, and OVERFLOWING IN IT WITH GRATITUDE.
Colossians 1:3,11-12 NASB We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, [11] strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; JOYOUSLY [12] GIVING THANKS to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Colossians 3:15-17 AMP Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And BE THANKFUL [to God always]. [16] Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with THANKFULNESS in your hearts to God. [17] Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], GIVING THANKS to God the Father through Him.
The verses above are just a sample of some of Paul’s writings where he speaks of gratitude, thankfulness, hope, and rejoicing. In the book of Philippians alone, Paul uses the word joy or rejoice 16 different times, and he wrote Philippians while under arrest for 2 years in Rome, so circumstantially, his life was very difficult. Whenever I think about the apostle Paul, I usually don’t think of him as a happy apostle. It’s not that I think of him as a depressed apostle, but his personality type was intense, and yet, more than any other writer of the New Testament, he wrote about a gleeful Christianity. He talked about rejoicing in the Lord always and in every situation, delighting in our faith. In Ephesians 5, he says that spirit-filled Christianity should result in singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. In Colossians (another letter he wrote while imprisoned in Rome) 7 different times, he mentions giving thanks or being thankful. In chapter 2:6-7, he tells us that we are to walk in union with Jesus, and because we are rooted in Christ and being built up in Him, we will overflow with gratitude.
1st Thessalonians 5:18 says that we are to give thanks IN all things, and Ephesians 5:20 says we are to give thanks FOR all things. Is this just a matter of being grateful to the Lord because of the activity of His grace in our lives? It certainly includes that, but I believe it is much more than just standing outside of who Christ is and being grateful for what He has done and for who He is in our lives. The dominant theme of everything Paul wrote about was our union with Christ. When Paul said that he rejoiced in the Lord, I believe he was saying it was because he was in Christ that he was able to rejoice. In other words, because he was in union with Christ, he was in union with the joyful heart of Jesus, and from that place, he could live a life of continual rejoicing and gratefulness. This, again, was not Paul’s personality type, and I get troubled when I find believers sort of writing off happy Christians because they believe they are simply happy because that’s their personality type. It is true that we each have unique personalities, but regardless of whether you are an extrovert, an introvert, or whatever, rejoicing in the Lord should always be the consequence of every believer’s union with Christ. It may come out a little quieter or louder depending on the personality, but every Christian is in union with the joyful Jesus. Don’t forget that the entire fallen personality was crucified with Christ and that you were raised up in him as a totally new self with who and all He is. We still have our personality, but now in union with him, instead of being in union with the law of sin and death. Romans 12:12 says that we rejoice in hope, and Romans 15:13 says that God is the God of hope, and therefore, if rejoicing springs forth from hope, and we are in union with the God of hope, then rejoicing should be part of the natural overflow of our Christian life. Let me take it even a little step further. Biblical hope would be best defined as a “confident expectation,” and I’ve heard some teachers say that it is a confident expectation of good, and I like that. Look at what 2nd Corinthians 2:14 says, “But thanks be to God (there is the whole thanksgiving thing again), who always leads us in His triumph in Christ…”
If hope springs forth from which rejoicing springs forth is the confident expectation of good, then Jesus lives with continual rejoicing and thanksgiving because He knows that His triumph will always prevail in every situation eventually. This is part of the reason that God is a God of hope, but even more than that, we are told in Psalm 16 that in His presence is fullness of joy and that at His right hand, there are pleasures for evermore. This does not mean that being in His presence gives me joy, though it does, but it means that His presence carries fullness of joy. God lives constantly in fullness of joy, even in those times when His heart is broken. Paul said about himself in 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 that there were times when he was sorrowing, yet he ALWAYS REJOICED. That’s because he lived his life in union with the joyful Jesus.