Over the last couple weeks we have looked at two things which have caused some people concern and possibly even worry. First, we talked about the election, some people are really excited while others are concerned over the changes in leadership in our government. The Bible reminds us we are to support our leaders and pray for them. Pray that God would give them wisdom and discernment, and then we trust God to direct their paths. Last week we talked about the economy, the news has been bleak, the stock market continues to decline, jobs lost, it is impacting so many people, and it is so easy to worry over income and job security when it is staring you in the face. Yet Jesus tells us we are not to worry but to, "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" (Mt. 6:33) and he says, "all these things shall be given to you.” We trust God to provide for all our needs, because our heavenly Father cares for us. We have begun to get the idea that our response to the situations around us are meant to be different than others. Rather than falling into worry, God says, “trust me." Rather than becoming upset, falling into complaining, bitterness, or cynicism the Apostle Paul reminds us that as Christians we are to "be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances."
I think the Apostle Paul realized our attitudes seem to be more of a response to our circumstances and feelings, than it is a state we are in. When something good happens to me, and it makes me feel good, I rejoice and give thanks to God. When I see Elizabeth smiling and giggling I am joyful. It is easy for me to rejoice when Michigan State beats Michigan in football. But what happens when Michigan State loses to Penn State by a landslide, or Michigan loses by a landslide to Ohio State? Or more seriously what happens when things go wrong in my life, when the wheels come off, I lose my job, or my income is cut significantly, or my expenses keep going up, or my health declines, do I go into a funk and get depressed, mope around, and complain? How do I respond to God? Do I find prayer more difficult? Am I able to give thanks to God?
But for Christians Paul is saying our ability to rejoice, to pray, to give thanks should not be dependent upon our circumstances and feelings. It is actually a choice we make (otherwise why would he be telling them to do it). We can still rejoice, pray, and give thanks at all times, good or bad, because of our relationship with God, when we trust in God, he helps us see our situation from a different perspective.
Before you say, yeah right! Whatever! That’s impossible! Remember who’s writing these words. Think of Paul’s own situation. Was his life a piece of cake? No, he experienced many hardships in his life. As he went from city to city telling people the good news about Jesus, he was imprisoned on countless occasions, received forty lashes with a whip on five different occasions, beaten with rods three times, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked at least three times (2 Cor. 11:23-26). Yet while writing to another church in Philippi from a prison cell he says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil. 4:6)"
Remember also who Paul is writing to. The people of Thessalonica were being persecuted, harassed by the Jews who did not choose to believe Jesus was the Messiah or Christ. We know this from the story of Paul’s visit in Acts (17:1-13), but also because Paul begins the letter by writing, "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:6). Yet in spite of their suffering Paul says be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks.
1. Be Joyful Always
Let’s start with joy…be joyful always he says. The reason we can have joy, and can be joyful always is because it is a gift God gives us through the Holy Spirit when we receive Jesus, it is a fruit of God’s Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Joy and the ability to rejoice is a direct result of our relationship with God. Jesus said, John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Jesus wants our joy to be "complete," "to be full" in the NAU, or "your joy will overflow" as it says it in the NLT.
Joy is not the same as happiness, which is based upon external circumstances, feelings, or emotion, because joy comes from within. It is an inner orientation God puts within us which allows us to find contentment in any situation we find ourselves.
As Christians we are not meant to be a sour grapes, going around with prune faces. We have the joy of the Lord as our strength (Neh. 8:10). We are joyful, and why shouldn’t we be, God has forgiven us through Jesus, he saved us and given us an eternal home with himself, and he promises to be with us in any and every circumstance through his Spirit.
How do we have joy in tough times? Since joy is based on our relationship with God, we may not be happy but we have joy knowing God still loves us, we have joy knowing we are a child of God. If you struggle with joy, how is your relationship with God?
2. Pray continually
Which is why I think Paul sandwiches prayer in between being joyful and giving thanks because they are both a direct result of our relationship with God. Our relationship, our abiding in Jesus, in large part is impacted by our prayer life with him. So Paul says to pray continually. Now if you’re like me, you’re thinking yeah right, pray continually! How am I supposed to do that? I have a hard enough time carving out a few minutes here and there to pray as it is. To pray continually does not mean we are getting on our knees, closing our eyes, and uttering words of requests or petitions to God every second of every day. Obviously this is impossible we’ve got things to do, like work, and take care of our families. In fact, Paul just finished telling these people to quite being lazy and get to work. I don’t think Paul would ask us to contradict something he just told them to do, or to do something which is impossible.
I think perhaps we need to understand prayer a little differently than just asking requests of God. What if we understood prayer as fellowship with God, having the awareness that God is present with us throughout our day? As we are aware of God’s presence, we easily move into asking requests or giving God praise and thanksgiving. When an ambulance goes by we might ask for God’s help for them, when I watch the news and hear of something tragic, I might pray for that family. When I see something beautiful like a rainbow I might thank God for creating it. When I am driving and someone cuts me off…I might pray that God would either forgive me for the thoughts or gestures I just had (just kidding), or even better I can turn my frustrations into a request for God’s patience.
Think of being in fellowship with God like taking a long walk with a friend, such as in the song, "In the Garden". "I walk through the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And he walks with me, and he talks with me". Just like being on a long walk with a friend, sometimes we can talk at length, sometimes a rattlesnake crosses our path and we cry out for help, other times we hit a fork in the road and ask for guidance in which path to take, other times we just walk in silence perhaps because we are busy doing something, but we are still in each others company, we are still aware of each other’s presence. The importance is not just the words, but the awareness of him walking with us.
Prayer, like joy and thankfulness, can be difficult when we struggle. I read an article this week from a woman who shared her struggle with joy, prayer, and thanksgiving as she lay in a hospital room waiting to give birth to a "lifeless midterm baby." She writes, "When life is hard, prayer is hard. Grief, illness, depression, and anger invade our lives and hang on with tenacity, stealing our desire to pray and our belief in prayer just when we need them most." She went on to recommend some ways to help us pray during difficult times. First, remember it’s okay to share our struggle with God. He knows our thoughts and feelings, we can tell him about our anger and our frustrations. After all David did it all the time in the Psalms. Sharing what we feel is not doubting God, it is being honest with ourselves and with God. Sometimes we don’t know what to pray, or what to say. Prayer goes beyond words, we don’t need to say anything, we can listen instead, remaining in the Lord’s presence, remember that the Holy Spirit is praying for us with groans that words cannot express (Rom. 8:26).
3. Give Thanks in All Situations
Giving thanks to God is all situations, likewise flows from our relationship with God. Just because we don’t feel thankful does not mean we can’t offer thanks.
Realize God is not telling us to thank Him FOR everything situation but to thank him IN all situations. We don’t thank God for evil or bad things that happen to us or others, but we can be thankful to God in the midst of our circumstance, that he is with us, that he can accomplish his purposes in spite of what is going on in our life.
In the autobiographical book, "The Hiding Place," Dutch woman Corrie ten Boom wrote of her family’s experience undergoing persecution under the Third Reich during WWII. Because they were caught harboring Jews, her family was sent off to concentration camps. At one point her and her sister, Betsie were sent to their third camp, Ravensbruck, and upon their arrival at the new barracks, they realized that among other horrors of the camp their barracks were completely infested with fleas. This is the dialog that ensued after their arrival. QUOTE: p. 180-181
"Fleas!" I cried. "Betsie, the place is swarming with them!…how can we live in such a place?"
"Show us. Show us how." It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie."
"Corrie!" she said excitedly. "He’s given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!"
I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. "It was in First Thessalonians," she read "…Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus—’" "That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer. ’Give thanks in all circumstances!’ That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!"
I stared at her, then around me at the dark, foul-aired room. "Such as?" I said. "Such as being assigned here together." I bit my lip, "Oh yes, Lord Jesus!" "Such as what you’re holding in your hands."
I looked down at the Bible. "Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all the women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages."
"Yes," said Betsie. "Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we’re packed so close, that many more will hear!" She looked at me expectantly. "Corrie!" she pleaded.
"Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds." "Thank You," Betsie went on serenely, "for the fleas and for — "The fleas! This was too much. "Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea."
"’Give thanks in all circumstances,’" she quoted. "It doesn’t say, ’in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us." And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.
As the story unfolds, their nightly Bible studies attracted more and more women. And Corrie started wondering if they would get caught. And so she asked one of the women, "Why don’t the Nazis ever come in and check on us?" And she said, "It’s because of the fleas. They won’t come near this place for that reason." And then Corrie remembered this Bible verse and said, "God, thank you for the fleas!"
What Corrie Ten Boom realized during what some would consider one of the most horrid experiences of the last century was that she could give thanks in ALL circumstances, even for the fleas. Thankfulness is an attitude we have, a decision we make, based on our trust in God and his promises. We thank God even in the tough times because there is still something to be thankful for, and even if we have a hard time thinking of something to be thankful for in our present circumstances, we can still be thankful in our Lord God who died so we might have life. Jesus bore our sins so we don’t have to pay the penalty. We can still give thanks trusting that God will make all things come to good for those who love him who are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28).
You might be going through a difficult situation right now and the last thing on your mind is being thankful, you may not feel thankful, and yet God calls us back into thinking about the things we can give thanks for because there is always something to give God thanks for, and as we give thanks it causes us to think differently about our situation and God gives us peace.
Let me close with these words from Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT).
"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
What do you need to give thanks for this week? We are going to close our service a little differently by having our prayer time at the end, and encouraging you to share what you are thankful for.
