Rejoice in the Lord. Always.

 “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” (Psalm 40:3)

In the spring and summer months, in the early morning hours and while all else is still quiet in the house, I can hear the sounds of birds chirping outside. They, too, are waking up and preparing for the new day. I think birds must be “morning people.” It warms the heart to hear the birds greet the day with cheerful songs. 

I am not an avid bird watcher, and so I can’t really tell most birds by their sounds. Though I can tell you when a hawk is in the area, and I recognize the cawing of the blue jay, and the frenetic cheeping of the wren, and the chirping of the cardinal, and the rotation of songs sung by the mockingbird, …and the cooing of the dove as it prepares to poop on the cars below. I can usually tell the difference between a bird’s song of joy and the noises it makes when it is being aggressive or when it is under stress.

The morning sounds from the birds are happy sounds. Joyful sounds. I enjoy listening to the birds in the morning. The birds just sing – that’s what they do. They can’t help but sing, because it’s their nature. I’m glad they don’t hold their songs in, but sing them with all the gusto they can muster. The birds help me start the day in a good mood. There’s something contagious about their joy. I suspect there’s a reason why we have the term, “the bluebird of happiness.”

I want to be like the birds. Don’t worry, I’m not going to burst into song – you don’t want to hear that! But I do want to be someone who exudes joy and gladness throughout the day. I want to be someone who doesn’t hold the joy of the Lord inside me, but who lets it flow steadily from my heart.

Joy is not meant to stay in our heart. Its nature is to find expression in our voice, in our demeanor, in the sparkle in our eyes. I love the word, “exude.” The dictionary defines “exude” in this way: “to project or display conspicuously or abundantly; radiate.”

Joy is meant to be exuded.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again -- Rejoice!"

Philippians  4:4 

God has put a song in our heart. We’re supposed to sing it.

Something wonderful happens when we let joy find expression in our lives: Joy has a way of becoming contagious. As it flows out of our hearts, it spills into the lives of everyone we encounter. Our joy makes the lives of others better, happier, blessed. 

In the cacophony of noises that we hear in our world – accusatory, bitter, angry voices that stir up fear and division – what would it be like of we focused more on making a joyful noise?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we were all a little bit more like the morning birds?

Rejoice in the Lord. Always. Rejoice.