1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
(Use the link below to read the verses.)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give
thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for
you. ESV
What
if your baby’s diaper pail is full and as you begin pulling the plastic bag
out, it rips and… well you get the picture. Would you be rejoicing or giving
thanks?
What
if your husband, who is a farmer, is out on the tractor when a nearby driver is
texting and runs off the road killing him making you a young widow and leaving
your three young children without a father?
What
if you are pregnant with your first child when the doctor tells you that your
baby is still born?
What
if, at age fifty-five, after you’ve given your heart and soul to your career,
your employer informs you that you’re being let go?
What
if your best friend from high school dies from cancer at age 66?
What
if… life happens? Are you able to rejoice; to give thanks; to pray?
We’re
not robots are we? We have feelings when things like this happen. We get angry.
We feel defeated, depressed. We feel worthless. We want to lash out at someone,
but who? God is pretty convenient sometimes.
How
can we obey these verses? Paul wrote that this is God’s will for us, but how do
we do it? In fact, it can be just as difficult to obey these verses when
everything is going well as it is when life sucks.
Yes,
life can be very painful at times. But just as Paul reminded the Thessalonian
believers that God loved them; that the power of the Holy Spirit was working in
them; that death is not the end, but the ultimate victory is ours through Christ
- he is reminding us of these same truths as well.
What
if when life happens you not only feel the pain or the joy of the moment, but you
put yourself in the hands of God? What if you pray?
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