Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In these verses there are three incredible commands, that seem to be impossible to fulfill, and yet one extremely compelling reason of why I should strive to fulfill them.

I will take four days to meditate on this, meditating on the three commands, one each day, and then on the fourth day, meditate on the reason why I should strive to fulfill these commands.

The first command is to live every moment of every day rejoicing. Rejoicing is nothing but experiencing joy and gladness to a high degree. Joy is "a delight of the mind, from the consideration of the present or assured approaching possession of a good." Thus, Paul is telling us that we should have delight in our inward man as we consider what we have now and what we have in the future in Christ. So this command is a wonderful one, one in which I should take great comfort.

Not only this, but I am told here that this is the will of God in Christ for me. God's will in Christ is for me to experience a high degree of delight as a I consider what I have in Christ today, and what I will have in Him in the future. My God then, is out seeking my good and my happiness. This is an incredible thing to ponder, and an incredible thing to meditate upon.

How is it that the God of the universe would care about me enough to be looking out for my happiness? Most people would think that the maker of heaven and earth would have plenty of better things to do then to will me to live in delight. God wants me to be happy. He wants me to experience the joy He has prepared for me in Christ. God knows that the only thing that will truly make me happy is Himself, and He has not withheld that from me, so this is a wonderful and amazingly exciting thing. God has given me all that I need to be utterly and completely happy...Himself.

Oh God, thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you that you are so wonderful and beautiful. Thank you that you are Lord of both heaven and earth. You are truly the only thing that will make me happy. You are truly the only One that I can trust and have confidence in. You are great, and the greatest thing about You is that You ARE. You have chosen to set your love upon me, so I stand here amazed that you would do this for me. You have given me all that I need to be happy...yourself. Thank you Lord. Praise you! Let my life be a living sacrifice to You. May I find all joy and happiness in you.