This has been an incredible stream of comments. What really stood out for me in this passage are the absolutes. ALWAYS be joyful. NEVER stop praying. Be thankful in ALL circumstances. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. It seems so SO hard.
But the answer follows it. We can do this because we BELONG to Christ. We can be joyful because we have Him to fall back on. Our assurance is in Him. And even if the worst thing on earth happened to us, we would still belong to Him. Not only that, but we can call on Him. And I think praying is crucial in this verse. I know I am not joyful or thankful all the time. But when I find myself rejecting joy and being ungrateful, I pray. I ask God to show me His blessings. I ask Him to give me a joyful heart. And I beg Him to help me be joyful and thankful.
We belong to Him. It ties it all together. It makes the absolutes possible.
@Eva and @Laura, thank you for your kind responses– and all of the comments. Reading then has really helped and made me realize that I tend to have a knee jerk reaction sometimes. When I was doubting God because of a tragic incident I should have been praying all the more. It’s difficult but I need to take the time to see the JOY in the midst of the bad– or at least just pray, pray, pray and give thanks!
I give THANKS to you all and this amazing little community!
You all bring up such great and thought provoking comments about being joyful and giving thanks in all circumstances. It is certainly a challenge in a world filled with sin! But I always find that when I can achieve that importsnt step of praying continually – having a constant conversation with God, it suddenly becomes so much easier for me to find joy (even when things are tough!) and give thanks in all circumstances. Like suddenly my eyes are opened to the good works He has been doing along. Prayer really is an important step in the process of living a life filled with joy and thanksgiving.
@Maria: I think situations like the one in Colorado are the reason God says we need to remain joyful, pray with ceasing and always give thanks. One thing I noticed in the verse about giving thanks is that we are to give thanks IN every situation and not FOR every situation. What happened in Colorado was and is still horrible. We should never be thankful or joyful about such terror. But we can be thankful for those who did survive and that God is still with us, even when something that horrible occurs. Several years ago, I became really sick. So sick that I couldn’t even get out of bed for longer than 10 minutes. At the time, I was so mad at God. How could He take everything I loved from me? It wasn’t until many months after, that I began to see that the enemy intended this for my harm, but God was using it for my and HIS good. We don’t always see the light in the middle of the dark storm. But one thing you can be sure of…God can take a mess and turn it into a masterpiece.
You will be in my prayers; that God Himself may show you what good will come out of that horrible moment in time. Cling to Jesus dear one, and don’t let go. Who knows, maybe God is teaching us all how to love more.
I think maybe the world has warped our understanding of joy. If our joy changes because of our circumstances, then that isn’t joy. I think it’s just an emotion. Like Carrie said, joy is a choice. I think that is why it is said so often in God’s word to be joyful. It’s a choice, not an emotion.
And by God’s grace and not our own strength, we will all choose joy. :)
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This has been an incredible stream of comments. What really stood out for me in this passage are the absolutes. ALWAYS be joyful. NEVER stop praying. Be thankful in ALL circumstances. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. It seems so SO hard.
But the answer follows it. We can do this because we BELONG to Christ. We can be joyful because we have Him to fall back on. Our assurance is in Him. And even if the worst thing on earth happened to us, we would still belong to Him. Not only that, but we can call on Him. And I think praying is crucial in this verse. I know I am not joyful or thankful all the time. But when I find myself rejecting joy and being ungrateful, I pray. I ask God to show me His blessings. I ask Him to give me a joyful heart. And I beg Him to help me be joyful and thankful.
We belong to Him. It ties it all together. It makes the absolutes possible.
You totally summarized what I've been mulling around in my head the last couple of days! Well said :)
@Eva and @Laura, thank you for your kind responses– and all of the comments. Reading then has really helped and made me realize that I tend to have a knee jerk reaction sometimes. When I was doubting God because of a tragic incident I should have been praying all the more. It’s difficult but I need to take the time to see the JOY in the midst of the bad– or at least just pray, pray, pray and give thanks!
I give THANKS to you all and this amazing little community!
I wrote a blog about today's verses – I hope you ladies will read! http://myfuelonthefire.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-cha…
You all bring up such great and thought provoking comments about being joyful and giving thanks in all circumstances. It is certainly a challenge in a world filled with sin! But I always find that when I can achieve that importsnt step of praying continually – having a constant conversation with God, it suddenly becomes so much easier for me to find joy (even when things are tough!) and give thanks in all circumstances. Like suddenly my eyes are opened to the good works He has been doing along. Prayer really is an important step in the process of living a life filled with joy and thanksgiving.
To hear one story of finding joy amidst the tragedy, read this blog entry written by the pastor of one of the victims: http://bstrait.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/a-miracle…
@Maria: I think situations like the one in Colorado are the reason God says we need to remain joyful, pray with ceasing and always give thanks. One thing I noticed in the verse about giving thanks is that we are to give thanks IN every situation and not FOR every situation. What happened in Colorado was and is still horrible. We should never be thankful or joyful about such terror. But we can be thankful for those who did survive and that God is still with us, even when something that horrible occurs. Several years ago, I became really sick. So sick that I couldn’t even get out of bed for longer than 10 minutes. At the time, I was so mad at God. How could He take everything I loved from me? It wasn’t until many months after, that I began to see that the enemy intended this for my harm, but God was using it for my and HIS good. We don’t always see the light in the middle of the dark storm. But one thing you can be sure of…God can take a mess and turn it into a masterpiece.
You will be in my prayers; that God Himself may show you what good will come out of that horrible moment in time. Cling to Jesus dear one, and don’t let go. Who knows, maybe God is teaching us all how to love more.
I think maybe the world has warped our understanding of joy. If our joy changes because of our circumstances, then that isn’t joy. I think it’s just an emotion. Like Carrie said, joy is a choice. I think that is why it is said so often in God’s word to be joyful. It’s a choice, not an emotion.
And by God’s grace and not our own strength, we will all choose joy. :)