For Thanksgiving: Is it Possible to Rejoice Always?

It’s in the text, so I know it is true, but it is still difficult to actually live out in my life without some miraculous work of the Spirit in me.

Paul gave the church at Thessalonica three simple little commands that are confounding.

Be rejoicing always.

Pray continually.

Continually give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I preached this passage today. I think I effectively communicated what the text means, but it is going to take a tremendous amount of faith to live it, especially considering what people have been facing in this past year.

Personal grief can be overwhelming. The strains and stresses of this year have piled up. Yet, we approach the Thanksgiving holiday with not only the command of God to be thankful but also do it with joy.

The first of the three is the hardest. We cannot just flip a switch on our emotions and be happy. When your friend tells you to “just be happy” in the middle of your huge trial or disappointment is not usually comforting. Here, it is God, through the Apostle Paul, that is doing this.

It is reassuring that humanly speaking this exhortation is coming from a man who had known trial and tragedy. He had been falsely accused, beaten, imprisoned, stoned, and left for dead, and all of these were in separate life experiences. He is speaking to a congregation of new believers that were suffering persecution for their faith. They were facing more than the common disasters of life—the death of loved ones, financial loss, political uncertainty. They were facing real persecution.

So, it is possible. It is possible to have joy in times of trial and sorrow—but how? I believe the three commands are interconnected. We cannot obey the command to be joyful unless we obey the commands to pray continually and be thankful in every circumstance.

Pray without ceasing.

I have heard this described as being in a constant attitude of prayer. I believe it is more than that. It is being constantly in prayer. It is not impossible to do this. Every human being on the planet has a continuing dialogue going on in the brain. Our task is to include God in that never-ending conversation with ourselves. He is already there anyway. He is listening to everything we say to ourselves in the very private recesses of our minds. We might as well acknowledge His presence. If we do that, we might find it harder to lie to ourselves, indulge in self-pity, nurture lust or greed. All those sins of the mind become more difficult when God gets to chime in constantly on our thinking.

Give thanks in every circumstance.

This year is a great opportunity to put this practice to the test. The media’s year-end reviews for 2020 are going to proclaim “good riddance!” to this remarkable year. In this Thanksgiving season, we can thankfully acknowledge the depths of our riches in Christ Jesus as we sorrowfully view the spiritual poverty in the world around us as it continues to reject even the reality of its Creator. We can be thankful that our God is truly on the throne no matter who ends up being the President of the United States. We have been reminded of the preciousness of worship and gathering together with our church family. We have been reminded that the fellowship of our family is more important than a rising or falling stock market or our jobs, and so much more.

We do not know what is ahead, but we know our God is and the depth of His love for us. To Him, we give our deepest heartfelt thanks this year.

When we do these things, choosing to rejoice becomes so much easier. May God bless you this Thanksgiving season.

Give thanks in all circumstances and rejoice.