When your friend enjoys a great day, hears great news, or gets what he or she wants, how do you respond?
Are you excited? Are you grateful? Does it make you think more of God’s grace and goodness? Do you smile?
Or… Does it upset you? Do you hate to hear of the good news? Are you jealous? Do you wish it would have happened to you? Do you hear the other person’s good news and cringe because it is not you?
Sincere Love Rejoices with Those Who Rejoice
The Apostle Paul helps us get and keep our thinking straight here. He writes:
9 Love must be without hypocrisy. … 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:9, 15)
God’s will for you includes the way you respond to your friend’s good news. Through Paul, God identified your rejoicing with another person as part of sincere love. When we say we love someone, we must rejoice with him or her when our friend gets the news he desired, get the promotion, gets a raise, wins a contest, gets engaged, and more.
If You Struggle Rejoicing with Those Who Rejoice
After you pray for God’s help, you begin your rejoicing with your friend in prayer. Take a few moments to thank God for blessing the person out of His grace and kindness. Ask God to continue to bless the other individual and help the other person truly enjoy God’s kindness.
After your heart begins to turn toward rejoicing, then consider how you can communicate your joy with the other person.
Today and this week, be on the look out for ways you can rejoice with those who rejoice!
Image Credit Priscilla Du Preez
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