Skip to main content

Give Thanks In All Circumstances

             Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18) 

            November began yesterday, but yesterday is also when I wrote this. I tend to forget to write “a day ahead.” I’ve already begun the gratitude journal that I mentioned a few days ago, and the only thing I’ll say with regard to these journals is the reminder that my goal is 1000 items for which I’m thankful listed by the end of November. If you want to take the challenge, you can change the number of items or the time period as you so choose.  

            But whether or not you are taking this challenge with me, today’s passage gives us a better challenge. He says to rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. There’s no keeping count! What he says next is the real focus. Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks is God’s will for us. I’ve known people who have struggled with the question of what God’s will is. I can sympathize. It seems to me that a major source of drama in my life has to do with what God wants me to do and/or whether or not I have done it well enough or long enough.

            Paul’s answer to What is God’s will for me? is “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” If you don’t know what you’re supposed to do about X, rejoice that God does know. Talk to God about it, and thank Him for His direction, for your not knowing, for the opportunity to trust Him… Each answer Paul lists involves communicating with God. You can rejoice and give thanks even while you’re pleading with Him for answers. Rejoicing doesn’t mean feeling no pain. Giving thanks doesn’t mean you’re happy, but that you are content (contained, in control of yourself.)

 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more