1 Thessalonians 5:16\u201318 (ESV)
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.<\/p>\n\n\n
When we think about God\u2019s will, we often picture doing something really impressive, or working hard to do something extremely difficult, or making some painful sacrifice. And, sometimes God\u2018s will does include something that\u2019s impressive. or hard to do, or that requires us to sacrifice our time or money or energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, there are some areas of our life where we don\u2019t have to wonder what God\u2019s will is because He has made it abundantly clear. Today, we look at three verses in the Bible where God tells us exactly what His will is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, Paul list three exhortations dealing with attitudes that believers are to have as concerning their personal lives before God. These are not suggestions; they are commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. LIVE IN JOY. (\u201cRejoice always\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Christian\u2019s joy does not spring from his circumstances, but from the blessings that are his because he is in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The one word that gives me the most trouble in this verse is ALWAYS! Wouldn\u2019t you love for it to say, \u201cRejoice most of the time?\u201d Maintaining the expression of joy is a discipline of the mind and heart with confidence in God\u2019s power, providence, forgiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. LIVE IN THE AWARENESS OF GOD\u2019S PRESENCE. (\u201cpray without ceasing\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Praying without ceasing is not the idea that your lips are always moving with thoughts and concerns to be brought to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
True prayer is the attitude of the heart, the desire of the heart. When our hearts desire what God desires, we are praying all day long as the Spirit intercedes for us and in us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Praying without ceasing suggests a mental attitude of prayerfulness, continual personal fellowship with God, and consciousness of being in His presence throughout each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. LIVE IN THANKFULNESS NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. (give thanks in all circumstances)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two previous commands deal with one\u2019s time, i.e. (16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing,\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This one deals with our circumstances. Christians are to give thanks to God in every circumstance of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This admonition is built on the understanding that God works everything together for good for those who love Him.<\/p>\n\n\n
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n
If this is true, then we should be able to praise the Lord at all times, in all circumstances, and for everything, just as long, as in doing so, we do not excuse sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These three good habits have been called the \u201cstanding orders of the church.\u201d They represent the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
REFLECTION:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you living in God\u2019s will regarding prayer, rejoicing, and thankfulness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are some hindrances to your joy or thankfulness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are some hindrances to recognizing God\u2019s presence in your daily life?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1 Thessalonians 5:16\u201318 (ESV)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. When we think about God\u2019s will, we often picture doing something really impressive, or working hard to do something extremely difficult, or making some painful sacrifice. And, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3511"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3511"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3513,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3511\/revisions\/3513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}