Thanks in All Circumstances

"Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Several things to think about here.  Be joyful always?  I understand that real joy is different from what we call "happiness" because joy resides deep down inside where nothing and no one can disturb it.  Happiness is on the surface and depends upon our circumstances being to our liking.  But being joyful makes me think of fun and excitement, when that joy that resides so deeply finds its way to the surface and bubbles over to resemble that happiness we just mentioned.  Perhaps I've been wrong about what it means to be joyful.  I'll have to think about that some more.  What do you think?

Pray continually.  This always bring the absurd image to my mind of someone who continually walks around with their head bowed and their eyes closed, bumping into everything.  I know that's not what pray continually means, but I have talked to people who seem to think that is what it means: "How can I pray continually?  I would never get anything done!"  Of course, you and I know that praying continually means that we are always in an attitude of prayer, where everything we think, do, and say, is part of our ongoing conversation with God.

Give thanks!  You knew this was where I was going with all this, didn't you?  Well, it is Thanksgiving!  The main thing I want to point out here, is that this Scripture tells us to give thanks IN all circumstances, not FOR all circumstances!  We can really get ourselves in a heap of trouble if we fail to make this distinction!  I can never be thankful for the evil that befalls me in this life, but I strive to maintain a thankful attitude toward God even when I am suffering from the effects of that evilness.  I can be thankful in such circumstances because I am convinced that God is ultimately in control.  I can endure suffering because I know the suffering I experience in this life is nothing compared with the glory I will experience in the next life - when I am eternally in the presence of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Could this thankfulness and ongoing conversation with God have something to do with being joyful always?  I think it might at that!

Joy, thankfulness, being in continuous conversation with God - all this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus!

Be blessed, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Pastor Mark

Expecting the Worst

I went to Wal-mart the other day.  I know.  I don't much like going there either.  It's too crowded.  People are always blocking the aisles to carry on a conversation.  The lines at the register are almost always too long.  It can be a frustrating experience!

But, there are some things that are less expensive there than anywhere else.  Like their generic version of Aleve.  Among other things, that's what I bought at Wal-mart.  You guessed it; the checkout line was too long!  The person in front of me took forever to get her money out, and then another forever to gather her stuff and move on!  I was starting to get a little irritable.  Just a teeny bit, mind you.

Well, I finally got out of the store with my stuff, got it into the car, and went home.  I went to put away my bottle of (generic) Aleve, but decided I needed to go ahead and take one.  Can you blame me?  When I opened the bottle, I saw that someone beat me to it!  It had already been opened and the seal broken!

I was preparing myself against all kinds of arguments for why Wal-mart might be reluctant to exchange the opened bottle of pills for an unopened bottle of pills.  What if they thought I had opened it, took out several pills, and just wanted to exchange it for a full bottle, thereby getting some free pills?  I was ready for them.  What if they asked my why I didn't check the bottle before putting it in my buggy?  I was ready for that one too.  All the way back to Wal-mart, I tried to think of all the arguments I might need to employ.

I walked in, saw the greeter, and told her I needed to exchange this bottle of pills.  She gave me a sticker and told me to go to Customer Service.  I rounded the corner and noticed that there were a few people in line ahead of me, so I decided to go ahead and get a new bottle off the shelf before heading over there.  I got in line, checked my watch, and thought, "Let's just see how long THIS takes!"

The two people ahead of me in the line went through quickly.  I explained to the lady at the counter what had happened.  She smiled and said, "Somebody must have had a headache."  I laughed and said, "They must have!"  Then I told her I brought a new bottle of pills from the shelf.  She thanked me for doing that, and exchanged the bottles without a single question!

I was pleasantly surprised.  After an irritating and frustrating experience, I had a right pleasant experience!  And it only took five minutes!

When have you expected the worst to happen, but ended up having a relatively pleasant experience instead?

Be Blessed.

The opposite of faith.

When I ask most people what they think is the opposite of faith, they answer, "doubt."  I can understand that way of thinking.  Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  I feel great when God gives me the confidence that what I hope for is a sure thing!

But what about those times when I don't have confidence that what I hope for is a sure thing?  I'm not talking about my hope for eternal life here.  I'm thinking of things like, "Will my sermon this Sunday meet the needs of my congregation?" or "Will this paycheck last until the next one comes?"

Those are the times that test our faith.  I'm sorry, but I don't think any of us can be sure of everything we hope for in this life or certain of these kinds of things that we cannot see.  We pray as Jesus did at Gethsemane, "Not my will, but yours be done."  We are not sure; we are not certain.  We doubt.

Does that mean we have no faith?  I don't think so.  I believe fear, is the opposite of faith.  Fear causes us to believe that God cannot or will not take care of us!  Fear makes us take matters into our own hands, or worse, give up in despair.  Fear says, "God can't handle this situation, so I guess I'll just have to do the best I can."

Abraham, the father of faith, doubted.  He allowed Sarah to talk him into having a child with Haggar because he doubted that God could give them a child of their own in their old age.

Don't beat yourself up when you have doubts.  Doubt is a normal component of faith!  We continue trusting God, even amid our doubts.  It is fear that causes us to turn away from God!

Be blessed!