In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, the apostle Paul says that we are to "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all cicumstances..." You may well have read this passage or heard it preached on and agree that it is how a Christian should live. However, it not really how we should live, it is how we ought to live and how we must live in order to fulfill God's will for us.
How do I know that? What makes me so sure that it is more than a "best practices" for the Christian community? Because, verse 18 doesn't end with the word circumstances; it goes on to say, "...for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." You may not have heard that part preached on and you may even have missed it when you read it. Nonetheless, it's there. Don't take my word for it, go back and read the passage for yourself.
OK, having looked a little closer at the passage, what then? How do we go about rejoicing always and giving thanks in all circumstances. Pray always, I get as I can offer thanks or petition for help, but rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances? What about when I'm having a root canal or a job loss or facing cancer treatments? How does one go about rejoicing or being thankful then?
One doesn't do it on his/her own. The praying continually part is extremely important just here. I can't know the outcome of my cancer but I can know that God has my life in his hands. I can trust God to do good even when I cannot see the good up front. I can pray that God will help me tto accept his will for me and embrace whatever comes down the pike. A tragedy can move me closer to God as I lean in to find strength and power to face the worst.
Christian character is more often hammered out on the anvil of adversity than it is fostered in the lap luxury or at the corner of Easy Street and Winsome Lane. Trusting God with your mortality helps you come to grips with the fact that God is faithful and that life is bigger than just the here and now. In Christ, we really do have the victory.
Have you considered that losing a job could be precisely what is necessary for you to move forward in life? Have you thought what that tooth would eventually feel like if you didn't get the root canal? Recently I talked to a man who said he hated being in a wheelchair. I told him I could fix that by dumping him out. He laughed but then he said, "I get it. What if I didn't have this wheelchair." Precisely, the thing he had seen as evil was a blessing.
To embrace God's will in this context is to embrace the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 6:22-23, where he says that "the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness." If we have a healthy outlook - eyes of faith in God's goodness - we will have a joyous cener. We can thank God for all things, knowing he has good in store. We can rejoice always knowing God is with us. As we continue daily in prayer, we keep close to God in our walk. This is God's desire. Jus' Sayn.
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