THE IRRATIONAL COMMANDS: REJOICE ALWAYS, PRAY WITHOUT CEASING & IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS!

 

Our text, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Rejoice always; Pray without ceasing; in everything Give Thanks; for this is God's Will for you in Christ Jesus." If Paul had only said, "Rejoice a lot, pray often, and try to be thankful," perhaps we could say, "Okay, we'll try to do that!" But no one honestly can say, "I rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks!"  

So what do we do with these seemingly irrational and impossible commands? Firstly, all of God's commandments in the Bible are beyond our ability to obey in the flesh, so we must rely on His indwelling Holy Spirit to help us. And Paul gave us the guaranteed solution in Galatians 5:16 - "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

I love the Amplified translation: "But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts]. (Galatians 5:16)

Secondly, walking in the Spirit simply mean to intentionally and conscientiously:

1) Minds The Thing of the Spirit - "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." (Romans 8:5-6).

2) Yield to Him:

- "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14).

- "Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses." (Romans 8:26 NIV).

- "That he would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." (Ephesians 3:16).

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can now walk victoriously base on the following practical spiritual mindset: 

1) REJOICE ALWAYS:

Not only rejoicing in happy things, but in sorrows also. The Christian can rejoice always because their joy isn’t based in circumstances, but in God. Circumstances change, but God doesn’t.

2) PRAY WITHOUT CEASING:

Christians are to pray continually. We can’t bow our heads, close our eyes, and fold our hands without ceasing, but those are customs of prayer, not prayer itself. Prayer is communication with God, and we can live each minute of the day in a constant, flowing, conversation with God.

3) IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS:

We don’t give thanks for everything, but in everything. We recognize God’s sovereign hand is in charge, and not blind fate or chance.

4) FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS FOR YOU:

After each one of these exhortations – rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks – we are told to do this because it is the will of God. The thought isn’t “this is God’s will, so you must do it.” The thought is rather “this is God’s will, so you can do it.” It isn’t easy to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks, but we can do it because it is God’s will.