Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1Thes. 5:16-18.
Our text for today is one sentence divided between three verses with three distinct commands to do things only possible through the help of the Holy Spirit. In our broken world filled with evil, wickedness, error, natural disasters, economic woes, etc., it is humanly impossible to rejoice always. Yet we are commanded to rejoice always. That is only possible when Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life, and you trust in Him and His promises. We can also pray without ceasing. One of the definitions of prayer is: “hungering and thirsting for God.” That implies having fellowship with God all the time, even while engaging with other tasks.
Finally, is the command to give thanks (to God) in all circumstances. The focus is not on our situation but on God, who is with us and controls those circumstances. There is nothing that is impossible with Him. He will see you through.
