Daily Bread 2010 - 1 Thessalonians 5
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
A lot of time and effort is spent trying to understand God’s will. And, of course, that isn’t a bad thing, unless we get so caught up over-analyzing it, that we are paralyzed and do nothing. The above verse is a short, but clear statement of God’s will for us. And notice it is not based on situation or circumstance. It is all encompassing.
But you might say, “How can I be joyful always? How can I pray continually? How can I give thanks when my attitude is in the tank?” The little phrase at the end has a lot to do with the answer to those three questions. The phrase is, “In Christ Jesus”. It is impossible to have joy all the time, if you are relying feelings or circumstances. Fact is, some days will be lousy, and sometimes we will feel less than joyous. But there is a great phrase from Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”
How is that people going through suffering can maintain an “attitude of gratitude”? It is by being connected to the joy of the Lord. As we pray continually, we put ourselves in a position to draw on the joy of the Lord. Do you see how these are connected? And as you are thankful in each situation, this will lead to more joy as well.
Sometimes it’s hard to be thankful when things go wrong in our lives. And when more than one thing goes wrong, it is even harder. But as our Grandma said, “Count your blessings”. Literally this means to add up your blessings. One blessing we all have is we are alive. I am not meaning to sound trite. The gift of life is the most basic, yet most important blessing we have and sometimes we don’t take time to be grateful for it.
Finally, I will leave you with a verse from the book of James that tells us how to have joy even in our trials, “Consider (same Greek word as “count”) it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
I don’t know what you are going through today, but I hope something that was said might help you to put it into perspective. Take some time this weekend to count your blessings and thank God for the people you love. Take time to tell them how much you love them and how much you are grateful that God has put them in your life.
Prayer: Jesus, we often are lacking in joy, so we ask that Your joy would be our strength. We give you thanks for all the good gifts in our lives, and especially your gift of life and salvation, which you gave us at the cross. We thank you for the hope and assurance of eternal life, what an indescribable gift. Help us to be grateful and live our lives in thanksgiving to you. Amen.
A lot of time and effort is spent trying to understand God’s will. And, of course, that isn’t a bad thing, unless we get so caught up over-analyzing it, that we are paralyzed and do nothing. The above verse is a short, but clear statement of God’s will for us. And notice it is not based on situation or circumstance. It is all encompassing.
But you might say, “How can I be joyful always? How can I pray continually? How can I give thanks when my attitude is in the tank?” The little phrase at the end has a lot to do with the answer to those three questions. The phrase is, “In Christ Jesus”. It is impossible to have joy all the time, if you are relying feelings or circumstances. Fact is, some days will be lousy, and sometimes we will feel less than joyous. But there is a great phrase from Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”
How is that people going through suffering can maintain an “attitude of gratitude”? It is by being connected to the joy of the Lord. As we pray continually, we put ourselves in a position to draw on the joy of the Lord. Do you see how these are connected? And as you are thankful in each situation, this will lead to more joy as well.
Sometimes it’s hard to be thankful when things go wrong in our lives. And when more than one thing goes wrong, it is even harder. But as our Grandma said, “Count your blessings”. Literally this means to add up your blessings. One blessing we all have is we are alive. I am not meaning to sound trite. The gift of life is the most basic, yet most important blessing we have and sometimes we don’t take time to be grateful for it.
Finally, I will leave you with a verse from the book of James that tells us how to have joy even in our trials, “Consider (same Greek word as “count”) it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
I don’t know what you are going through today, but I hope something that was said might help you to put it into perspective. Take some time this weekend to count your blessings and thank God for the people you love. Take time to tell them how much you love them and how much you are grateful that God has put them in your life.
Prayer: Jesus, we often are lacking in joy, so we ask that Your joy would be our strength. We give you thanks for all the good gifts in our lives, and especially your gift of life and salvation, which you gave us at the cross. We thank you for the hope and assurance of eternal life, what an indescribable gift. Help us to be grateful and live our lives in thanksgiving to you. Amen.
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