"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." — I Thess. 5:16-18
"What is God's will for my life?" is a question most serious Christians ask at one time or another, and sometimes often. Most of us, when asking that question, are not looking for the answer here, but here it is, in first order magnitude. "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks." It is one of the most demanding passages in scripture, and its demand is impossible for the natural man to fulfill. Yet it is set before us as "the will of God" for every believer!
For a moment, reflect upon it this way:
Rejoice — always (never be dismayed)
Pray — always (never be unfocused)
Give thanks — always (never complain)
Now consider that the passage reads the same in a hospital room as it does in a chapel. It lays the same challenge at the feet of the destitute as it does the prosperous. It conveys the same message to the oppressed as to the free. Wherever there Christians, whatever their circumstances, the injunction is the same and expresses "the will of God" for you.
If we are to rejoice always, we must rejoice in times of sorrow as well as in life's sunshine. We must rejoice in times of pain as well as in pleasure. We must rejoice in when in poverty as well as in plenty; in the darkness as in the light. Failure will require the same response as fulfillment, and rejection as well as recognition. Those who attain the will of God in this sense will be characterized by indefatigable, indestructible, inscrutable joy! And no one will understand them!!
Then there is the commandment, "In everything give thanks." It is a demand from which there is no relief, for which there are no exceptions. After all, this is the infallible, unchanging word of God, and "this is the will of God… for you." The scope is the same as for rejoicing. If applied, it would make every day Thanksgiving Day, with or without turkey and the trimmings! Were it realized in my life, no one would ever hear me complain—about anything.
Between these two is the directive, "Pray without ceasing." That is the hinge, if you will, upon which this whole thing pivots. It is a call to an all-comprehensive, consistent and unbroken communion with God. Nothing is left outside the scope of prayer, nothing is overlooked, nothing is deemed irrelevant to it. Since it is evident that one cannot be continually on his knees, this is obviously a different concept of prayer than we usually entertain. What is envisioned here is prayer as the atmosphere of life. It aims at that kind of unbroken communion that makes God our constant, conscious Companion. Every circumstance of life is shared with Him; every temptation is referred to Him, and His power relied upon to address and resist it; every trial is confronted in a continuum of communion and with a conscious cry, "Not my will, but Thine be done." Not just occasionally, but constantly. Prayer will be as regular as breathing.
Confronted with this definition of the will of God, we are driven to one of two conclusions. Either God is playing games with us, imposing impossible demands; or, He is prepared to enable us if we are truly willing to obey. If the former, God is capricious and unfair. If the latter, God has an order of life for us that could utterly transform us, and that few of us have yet experienced.
If we would begin this radical journey there are a few keys to be noted. The first is evident in the phrase, "in Christ Jesus." One must be "born from above" before such a life is ever possible. A paper faith, mere "Christian religion" will not do. Second, we must develop an entirely new and radically different view of life in which not "here and now," but hereafter is the essence of reality. Third, we must operate under the unwavering conviction that God is in control, knows exactly what He is doing all the time, and that what He does is right. "This is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
For HIS glory,
"Pastor" Frasier
"What is God's will for my life?" is a question most serious Christians ask at one time or another, and sometimes often. Most of us, when asking that question, are not looking for the answer here, but here it is, in first order magnitude. "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks." It is one of the most demanding passages in scripture, and its demand is impossible for the natural man to fulfill. Yet it is set before us as "the will of God" for every believer!
For a moment, reflect upon it this way:
Rejoice — always (never be dismayed)
Pray — always (never be unfocused)
Give thanks — always (never complain)
Now consider that the passage reads the same in a hospital room as it does in a chapel. It lays the same challenge at the feet of the destitute as it does the prosperous. It conveys the same message to the oppressed as to the free. Wherever there Christians, whatever their circumstances, the injunction is the same and expresses "the will of God" for you.
If we are to rejoice always, we must rejoice in times of sorrow as well as in life's sunshine. We must rejoice in times of pain as well as in pleasure. We must rejoice in when in poverty as well as in plenty; in the darkness as in the light. Failure will require the same response as fulfillment, and rejection as well as recognition. Those who attain the will of God in this sense will be characterized by indefatigable, indestructible, inscrutable joy! And no one will understand them!!
Then there is the commandment, "In everything give thanks." It is a demand from which there is no relief, for which there are no exceptions. After all, this is the infallible, unchanging word of God, and "this is the will of God… for you." The scope is the same as for rejoicing. If applied, it would make every day Thanksgiving Day, with or without turkey and the trimmings! Were it realized in my life, no one would ever hear me complain—about anything.
Between these two is the directive, "Pray without ceasing." That is the hinge, if you will, upon which this whole thing pivots. It is a call to an all-comprehensive, consistent and unbroken communion with God. Nothing is left outside the scope of prayer, nothing is overlooked, nothing is deemed irrelevant to it. Since it is evident that one cannot be continually on his knees, this is obviously a different concept of prayer than we usually entertain. What is envisioned here is prayer as the atmosphere of life. It aims at that kind of unbroken communion that makes God our constant, conscious Companion. Every circumstance of life is shared with Him; every temptation is referred to Him, and His power relied upon to address and resist it; every trial is confronted in a continuum of communion and with a conscious cry, "Not my will, but Thine be done." Not just occasionally, but constantly. Prayer will be as regular as breathing.
Confronted with this definition of the will of God, we are driven to one of two conclusions. Either God is playing games with us, imposing impossible demands; or, He is prepared to enable us if we are truly willing to obey. If the former, God is capricious and unfair. If the latter, God has an order of life for us that could utterly transform us, and that few of us have yet experienced.
If we would begin this radical journey there are a few keys to be noted. The first is evident in the phrase, "in Christ Jesus." One must be "born from above" before such a life is ever possible. A paper faith, mere "Christian religion" will not do. Second, we must develop an entirely new and radically different view of life in which not "here and now," but hereafter is the essence of reality. Third, we must operate under the unwavering conviction that God is in control, knows exactly what He is doing all the time, and that what He does is right. "This is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
For HIS glory,
"Pastor" Frasier
No comments:
Post a Comment