God’s will means Joy, Prayer, and Thanksgiving for those who are in Christ
This morning while reading my Bible I came across a familiar scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 18 “Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I was flabbergasted! I thought to myself, “Lord, how I can have joy and thanksgiving all the time?” I looked this passage up in the Book of Knowledge Commentary and it was such an encouragement to me that I wanted to share it with you. It says “God’s will means joy, prayer and thanksgiving for those who are in Christ. Continual prayer is not prayer that prevails without any interruptions, but prayer that continues whenever possible. The adverb for continually was used in the Greek of a hacking cough. Paul was speaking of maintaining continuous fellowship with God as much as possible in the midst of daily living in which concentration is frequently broken.”
We as believers are to give thanks to God in every circumstance of life. The scripture says in Romans 8:28 that God works everything together for good for those that love Him. Jesus continually told his disciples not to worry about the things of tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself. Dear friend, we rob ourselves of living a joyful life because we allow our circumstances to control our joy. If I knew that today was going to be the last day of my life here on this earth, would I worry about the rest of today? No! I would be trying to get the most out of today. So for today, when I go into the store and the cashier is laughing with a customer and I look at my watch and try to be joyous; or when I get ready to turn into a parking spot while it is raining and someone slips in ahead of me – I will really try and remember that for today, Lord, you are the joy of my life, my prayer and my thanksgiving. My prayer for you today friend, is to share the joy of your life. If I can show the world true joy and compassion, they will want this for themselves.
This week on our radio program “A Place Missionaries Call Home” we will be talking with Keith and Jeannette Cullers. They and their three boys have been missionaries for over 25 years in Taiwan. Their story will inspire you and encourage you to pray for our missionaries. The Cullers will share their passion and how salvation works to reach the world.
For more information on our radio programs, go our website at www.siloamhomes.org and click on radio programs. You can also download past shows for free.
God bless each of you.