Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:16-17 (NIV)
I probably feel the same as you do. Go back and read that scripture verse again.
The Apostle Paul wrote it. This is the same guy who persecuted followers of Christ until he had a “God-orchestrated-blinding-light-conversion experience” on the Damascus Road. Thereafter, Paul was imprisoned regularly, lashed five times and beaten with rods three times by his fellow Jews, stoned, shipwrecked three times, constantly on the move and in danger from rivers, bandits, friends who betrayed him, whether in the cities, the country or at sea, and usually was found hungry, thirsty, and without sleep.
And Paul’s advice to us:
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.”
I’m with you here—the man obviously has got to have a few screws loose.
Why in the world would we listen to a guy who had gone through all of that and is probably writing out of exhaustion, dehydration, blurred thinking, anger, and is an obvious candidate for long-term psychological counseling?
We may not have experienced all, or any, of the things Paul did, but we’ve had our share of tough moments and trying times. The rains descending on our lives seem never-ending at times. You’ve lost a job. A young friend died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Your boss continues to prove that it is all about him. You can’t seem to find a way to keep things on track for the longer haul. You’re not sure how to get folks to pull together at the office, especially in the toughest times, getting them to see the good which will come, as together they lift each other through those times.You anxiously await the doctor’s word on whether the cancer found in recently removed tumors has migrated to other areas.
Your parents are aging and changing right before your eyes. Your children are starting in schools where guns and other weapons are found in lockers, and academics, safety and security have taken a backseat to rampant fear, drugs, bullying and sexual activity. Your children or grandchildren seem too vulnerable to the evil in the world everywhere, and especially in the new world of “social” media (or perhaps more aptly named “anti-social,” no longer involving any face-to-face accountable interaction). Your spouse has just told you they are leaving you.
And in the midst of all the shipwrecks of our life, we discover that our brains are not big enough, nor our arms strong enough, nor our reach long enough to control or change what we are facing.
And in the midst of all of that Paul offers this advice:
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.”
Ugh! Really? That’s it? I’m with you. Paul is a lunatic or at least he’s delusional! There has to be something else we can do, someone else we can listen to, and somewhere else we can go to find relief. Or maybe we can just be angry.
But there it is again, in the midst of whatever we face:
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.”
Why? Why does Paul say that? He has to have some appreciation of what we’re going through, from his own experiences. He has to know that life is not easy. Then why does he tell us to “be joyful—always?”
Are you ready? Because what Paul learned through all that he went through right up until the very end, is that God had never left him. And that’s what Paul is trying to tell us. That’s what we, too, need to embrace. No matter what goes on in our lives, God is always there. In the midst of the worst of moments and wildest of scenes, He is still on the throne.
In the midst of whatever we are going through, God is still at work. God still sees us. He still cares about us. He still controls eternity. He still walks with us, beside us, behind us, before us and carries us when we need to be carried. And no matter how bad things seem at times, He can weave them into a beautiful tapestry of our lives that will have a lasting positive impact, and leave a legacy for good that will glorify Him.
That’s why Paul can say throughout his life—
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.”
And I suppose to say that, it has to come down to a matter of trust, no matter what. Trust in the God Who created you and me and those we love, and the God Who is always there.
It may be hard to admit that our brains are not big enough, nor our arms strong enough, nor reach long enough to control or change what we or our loved ones are facing.
Too many days it seems as though we, or those we love, are heading for an impending shipwreck. And God, through Paul, tells us to—
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.”
It may be the only thing we have—which is what I feel at times when I wake up in the early morning hours with concerns about my family on my mind. But when you remember to whom we’re looking, praying, and giving thanks, and that He is always there—it will always be enough.
For today and all eternity.
In His Name—Scott
Copyright 2014. Scott L. Whitaker. All rights reserved.
