Living According To God's Will: Three In ONE Spiritual Practice (It's God's Will: HE Says So.)

 

Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances, give thanks:
For this is God's will in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

God Says So:

As we continue our journey together to grasp how to live according to God's will, we come to this passage where God reveals, through His own Holy Spirit, that this teaching absolutely IS God's will.  "For this is God's Will in Christ Jesus."  (v.18)  What is God's will? The spiritual practice shared in verses 16-17 IS God's will. This being the case, we sure want to be able to understand what is being said in order for us to abide in this ancient wisdom. And in so doing we can, as Jesus says, "have life to the full." Let's look at these three parts to one spiritual practice.

Rejoice Evermore:

Rejoice is not a word many people in modern times verbalize, and to an insensitive ear, this word might not provide us with a lot of understanding.  Some synonyms for this word might resonate more with our innards. Here are a few of them: Happiness, Pleasure, Joy, Gladness, Delight are a few of them.  But how are we to be people who rejoice, are happy, have pleasure, gladness and delight.  Philippians 4:4 helps us when it says, "Rejoice IN the Lord, always. And I say it again, rejoice!" The key is to intentionally, or on purpose, habitually abide in the Lord. Jesus reminds us in the gospel of John, "If you abide in me, and I abide in you, you WILL bear much fruit.  I am the vine you are the branches, apart from me you can do NO-thing."  John 15:5

It seems to me, therefore, if we want to rejoice, we must have this experience because of an intentional part of our relationship with Jesus. It's not about spending a few minutes with the Lord in the morning or in the evening. It's about practicing His presence through the day. And John 15 tells us that as we do this, the Father prunes us to be able to be more fruitful. Yes, as we intentionally abide, God's Spirit will flow through Jesus, the Vine, and then through us. Then, we will  be more happy, be able to experience more pleasure, to have more joy, to experience more gladness, to be delighted in HIM. It's about our relationship. It's not about acting "religious" in our own strength. Apart for Jesus, we can do NO-thing, including rejoice evermore. What an awesome God we serve to make this available to us.

Pray Without Ceasing

Say What? For some this seems impossible because of the busyness of each day.  I remember when teaching other Pastors about what it takes to cooperate with God in order to have a growing church, I frankly said, "Pray."  I even told them about how to pray for God's power to grow the Church through the people.  I was surprised to hear Pastors say, "I don't have time to pray. There is so much to do."  Or when facing a task greater than themselves, I would hear, there's got to be more to it than "just praying." Dear friend, if you are too busy to learn how to be in the Lord's presence continually through the supernaturally powerful spiritual practice of prayer, you are too busy. 

My Story:

I remember when I was being discipled at a very young age, I was challenged to set aside 15 minutes a day to pray.  I was also challenged to get up an hour early. I took on this challenge, and something beautiful happened,  my time with the Lord started increasing.  I began recognizing my flaws, and I began healing--inside out - seeking to become like Jesus.  I needed more time, and God granted it. In my old age, Jesus IS my first waking thought. Entering into The Father's presence, through Jesus is my primary plan. The Holy Spirit flows. My wife and I pray, as we close the day. God is our overseer all day. Guess what? The true and living triune God is my last thought at night, as well!" It's NOT because I think of myself as some "Holy Joe" that this is my way of being.  I am this way because I desperately need THE Lord!

BE THANKFUL

Being thankful is a choice, and it's fairly easy to simply choose to say, "thank you, Lord!"  The challenge is to be thankful, "in ALL circumstances."  This absolute is absolutely something that, not only takes making a choice, it also requires practice, practice, practice; after all, some of those "all circumstances" are painful, and the last thing that comes to the  mind is to be thankful for a whole bunch of pain. I am fairly certain you agree.

Nevertheless, here is what I am leaning: If I make a choice to be thankful for whatever is going on, the way I am feeling begins to change.  As I refocus, and as I intentionally discipline myself to cooperate with God's grace, and I speak to about the pain to God with a "thank you," the circumstances may not change, but I do. Yes, indeed, this developing, on purpose, of  an attitude of gratitude, brings balance to the imbalance of my life. And I can get out of balance real easy. So, this is important to me.

Why is God doing this?

God's will for rejoicing, praying and thanking is NOT given to us to make us feel guilty when we fail to practice these things.  He is giving us away to experience joy to be full. He is giving us a prayer practice that will positively impact each of our lives. And He is giving us an attitude that brings peace and calmness to us.  I'm thinking most of us want to have this kind of experience.

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for continuing to reveal your will to us through your Word:
As we abide in You, and You abide in us, Jesus, and as the Holy Sprit flows through we who are becoming the fruit bearing vineyard, may we yield as You, Heavenly Father, continue to prune us. Please keep pruning us, Heavenly Father, so that we will daily experience the life giving 3 in 1 spiritual practice of Rejoicing ever more, praying continually and giving thanks in all circumstances.

Apart from you, O Lord, we can do NO-thing, but we can do all things You call us to be and do through Christ who gives us strength. We abide, and we wait for these miracles to occur in us, and through us, as we choose to be, and do, what you share with us is Your will.

In Jesus Name: Amen