I Thessalonians 5:16 – 18

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

This is a lovely word of encouragement. As I receive it I note that it is possible and necessary to rejoice always, not just when I feel like rejoicing. Same for prayer.  If we stop praying what are we depending on? Our own wit or strength?

Then I love the third word, in caps it is IN EVERYTHING REJOICE.  Not FOR everything.  I might get to that some day – rejoicing for everything. In the meanwhile I can praise in everything, rain or sunshine, when things happen that please me and when they do not.  It is an effort of the will, of course, but if the Spirit of God is in us we can do it!  In fact we need to do it.  When we murmur instead of giving thanks, we shrivel and slowly descend into self-dependence.  That is awful because the self is horribly unpredictable!

So what is God’s will for me?  That I rejoice, pray and give thanks. That is our triplet for today.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend.