“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
Thessalonica,
founded in 300 BC, was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. It was
roughly 90 miles west of Philippi.
Scholars refer to this city as “important,
populous and wicked”, having several cults that performed pagan rites and
sex orgies with regularity. The
believers there were in small part converted Jews, but largely God-fearing
Greeks who had come to know Christ through Paul’s teaching and preaching. Paul’s letter is general teaching on the
persecution of believers and sexual ethics.
The
phrase I would like to hone in on today is “give
thanks in all circumstances”. As
believers in God who are called to be Christ to a lost and dying world, we face
many trying circumstances. Some are caused by our ethical and moral standards,
which are diametrically opposed to those of the world. Some are simply life’s normal situations that
arise daily. It can be very difficult to
be thankful in all circumstances, yet
this is God’s will for us. God causes or
allows all things that take place in this world. He does this for purposes we do not
comprehend. If we truly trust that God
always has our best interests at heart, and we should, then instead of
grumbling or complaining about our circumstances, ask God what lesson He wants
us to learn from it. Our spiritual
growth is supremely important to us and to God.
Each
day has lessons in patience, humility and compassion, to name a few, if we look
for them. We are to seek to sharpen our
spiritual gifts and part of that is to rejoice in the name of the Lord as a
matter of course, pray regarding all things and give thanks for any and all circumstances
we find ourselves in for this is one way the world will see Christ in us. Until Christ returns, walk with the King and
be a blessing!
Resource: The
Reformation Study Bible.
