Wake-up calls can come in the form of an alarm clock or a hotel front desk clerk calling your hotel room early in the morning upon request to tell you it is time to WAKE UP! But God can give us spiritual wake-up calls in all sorts of ways – first and foremost right in the pages of the Bible. God gave me a wake-up call in the form of a single verse to rouse me out of my spiritual slumber concerning a certain very important matter. Rejoicing.
The Lord makes clear throughout the whole Bible that being joyful and rejoicing and praising Him are crucial to loving, honoring, and glorifying Him, and He used this particular verse to show me I had slacked off in rejoicing in Him.
Here is the verse He used to jolt me awake:
“Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.” Psalms 63:7 NKJV
When I read the verse, I exclaimed in my heart, “I haven’t been rejoicing!”
Once again, as sadly I have done so often over the years when I have allowed myself to get bogged down in the trials of this life, I had fallen back into lots more moaning and groaning and being discouraged than thanking Him, praising Him, and rejoicing.
What a beautiful, powerful verse God used to remind me to regularly rejoice in Him.
How often does God desire us to rejoice
“Rejoice always,” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 NKJV
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 NKJV
Oh, let us rejoice! No matter our struggles! No matter our trials and tribulations! Now matter the ups and the downs of this life. Yes, let us rejoice! In the Lord! Amen!