“Rejoice always” - that’s what I’ve been focusing on lately. Rejoicing because God is God, and he is in control. Rejoicing because I have been blessed with life and love. Rejoicing because my future is going to be full of boundless JOY, even if I face icky stuff here in this life. And today’s verse teaches me to rejoice because God said so!“Rejoice always, pray constantly,
give thanks in everything, for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Pray constantly” - this part used to give me such trouble. How am I suppose to function in this life if I never get off my knees, if I’m mumbling prayers as I do the grocery shopping? But now I’ve learned more about what prayer really is. It’s about a relationship with God. I do need to spend time specifically devoted to prayer, but all throughout the day, I can be in open communication with God, ready to listen to him, eager to learn whatever he wants to teach me, and maintaining a spirit of thankfulness.
Which brings me to the next part - “give thanks in everything.” Yes, thank him for the good things: rain on a parched garden, the opportunity to learn along side my daughter as we homeschool, a relaxed evening with my husband, a dog sleeping by my feet, a cup of steaming hot tea. But also thank him for the harder things: learning patience as we wait to get approved by the state for adoption, budgeting the money to replace a rotting back door, finding the time to do all the things that need doing. And even though we might not thank him for the painful things, we can still find things to thank him for in the midst of them, if we look hard enough. I am amazed, humbled, and inspired by a sweet family we know who recently, suddenly, lost their youngest son. They hurt, they cry out, they hunger for answers, and they desperately wish for their sweet boy to be back in their arms. But they FEEL God wrapping his loving arms around them in so many ways, and they find so many things to thank God for, even in this unthinkably painful time. And through it all, they have hope - the great promise that they will see him again. That kind of faith, that kind of hope, that kind of thankfulness is God’s will for us.
