This week took me deeper into
the ministry journeys of Paul … specifically through Acts 17 – 19, 1
Thessalonians 1 – 5, 2 Thessalonians 1 – 3, 1 Corinthians 1 – 14. Among my favorite passages in all the Bible
is encapsulated within these sections of scripture. It’s in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18 … a
relatively short portion that packs a huge punch.
Always be
joyful and never stop praying. Whatever happens, keep thanking God
because of Jesus Christ. This is what
God wants you to do.
Let’s take this
piece-by-piece as a bit of a personal attitude inventory.
Always be joyful. Okay, I confess I could stop
there and know that I’m a far cry from “always.” Think about what joyful means … admittedly,
I’m not attempting to translate the Greek, this is just plain old contemporary
English. There were definitions that
included “emotion,” “expression,” and “feeling.” But the one that I think hit the nail on the
head, from the point of view of this passage, was “a state of happiness or felicity.” The word “state” as emphasized, I think, is
the key. A state of being suggests a
constant, normal, true existence. How is
this possible? Let’s look at the next
passages …
Never stop praying. Praying puts us not just in
communication with God, but in communion with Him. It allows us to acknowledge His Lordship and
to express adoration He is rightly due.
We can also expose our hearts to Him (which of course He already knows)
and confess the ways we’ve deviated from His desired behaviors. In essence, this allows us to realign
ourselves to Him, which in an nutshell is the way we can achieve real joy. This joy can only come from a life devoted to
God in the day-to-day realities we face, when we surrender to His perfect,
loving, holy plan for our lives. When we
know God is truly the Lord of our life, how can we NOT have joy? I think this is why Paul says “never stop praying.” NEVER STOP PRAYING. How crazy hard is that? Although, I think the point is a lifestyle of
constant prayerfulness … not necessarily devoting 24 / 7 to being at home in
prayer all the time. We can be praying
nonstop as a matter of lifestyle and acknowledgement and intercession. Remember, God doesn’t need us to utter long,
detailed sentences with big King James Version words to know what’s on our
hearts from a prayer perspective.
Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus
Christ. Whatever happens. Whatever happens? Whatever happens! Another place where I have to confess I
struggle. My thankfulness is all too
often tied to the condition of my existence … little stuff, in fact, can pull
me out of this orbit. It’s a frustration
that I know is not something I alone battle with, but it’s my responsibility
(and your responsibility) to adjust our perspective to a thankful one. Why should we? How could we?
It says in the passage … “because
of Jesus Christ.” Enough said. When we really get right down to it, that’s
all it should really take. When we
really pay close, detailed attention to what Jesus did for us by serving as the
propitiation for our sin … there’s no reasonable way to NOT be constantly
thanking God … whatever happens. Besides
… “this is what God wants you to do.” I’ll say it again … enough said.
Far too often I lack a joyful
state of existence. I don’t sufficiently
carry a “never stop praying” lifestyle. “Whatever
happens” more often than I’d like can take me to places where thankfulness is
not chiefly my attitude. Let’s ask God
this week … especially given whatever dicey circumstances might be going on …
to remind us what real joy is, how to get it through a prayerful lifestyle, and
in so doing to restore our thankfulness … no matter what.
Thanking the Lord for you!
MR
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