Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
This is the beginning of Thanksgiving week, so I thought we would well to take a verse-by-verse look at this powerful passage throughout the week. I pray these messages will be a source of eternal encouragement to you.
Verse 16 — Rejoice Always
Notice that God’s Word does not tell us to rejoice when things are going well or when we are riding the crest of the wave or even when we feel like it. We are to rejoice always. I’m sure we would all agree that this goes against our natural inclinations. There are times when we simply do not feel like rejoicing! Whether we have encountered difficulties personally, professionally, or relationally, there are times when circumstances seem to argue vehemently against rejoicing. Yet Scripture tells us we do not get a vote on when we are to rejoice; no, we are to “Rejoice always.”
One of the more difficult and yet most valuable lessons I have learned during my years as a pastor is to maintain an eternal perspective. When we only focus on what is going on in our lives at the moment, rejoicing is sometimes the last thing we want to do. But when we look at our lives in light of eternity, we can and we will make the choice to rejoice. From life-altering news to daily frustrations and inconveniences, when we are living in the light of eternity, we are empowered to rejoice always, no matter what we are going through.
When we make the choice to rejoice, we are being proactive, rather than reactive. We are telling God we trust Him even when we cannot trace Him. Now, this does not mean that we don’t acknowledge the difficulties of daily living. We all struggle in our flesh with negativity, frustration, depression, bitterness, and countless other emotions that get in the way of rejoicing always. And make no mistake, God cares about everything we are going through and takes each heartache and heartbreak seriously. We can and should take everything to God and let Him carry our burdens.
Remember, the best place to live life is in the shadow of the cross. God cares so much for us that He sent Jesus to take our place on a cross. If we can think of no other reason to rejoice, we have this one: We have a Savior who redeemed us and reconciled us to Himself. We can rejoice in every circumstance because of who Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and what He has promised to one day do: He will bring us into a place where there will be no more tears, sorrow, brokenness, or death. We will have arrived in our Promised Land. That is maintaining an eternal perspective. And that perspective gives us all the reason we need to rejoice always, wouldn’t you agree?
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 