'Leap of Joy', acrylic on canvas 20 x 20cm

By Aimee Brownlie

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God wants us to rejoice! Many times in the Bible, God commands us to rejoice! Even in difficult circumstances, we are to count it all joy as the testing of our faith produces perseverance!

Here are some Bible verses on rejoicing; 

'Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!' - Philippians 4:4

'But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You' - Psalm 5:11

'I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.' - Psalm 9:2

'But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.' Psalm 13:5

'Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.' - Psalm 16:9

'We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.' - Psalm 20:5

'The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.' - Psalm 28:7

'I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, For You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities' - Psalm 31:7

'Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!' - Psalm 32:11

'Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.' - Psalm 33:1

'For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.' - Psalm 33:21

'Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”' - Psalm 40:16

'Rejoice always' - 1 Thessalonians 5:16

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These are only some of the verses which mention the word 'rejoice'! It is clearly important that God wants us to rejoice. Rejoice, take heart and be glad for Christ has overcome the world. Jesus is our victory! We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. 

I recently finished a painting of a dog looking upwards. Dogs can represent loyalty. As a dog is loyal to its master, so we are to be loyal to our Master, Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We are to fix our eyes on Him, who is our joy and prize, knowing that Heaven is cheering us on! 

'Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.'

Hebrews 12:1-2

My prayer for you and I, is that we focus on Jesus throughout this race of life and keep an eternal perspective on life. This will help us to get through the really hard days and to never give up! Jesus is interceding for us! 

     'Fix Your Eyes' acrylic on canvas 12 x 9"

  © Aimee Brownlie 2023