1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.“
Sometimes in life we face challenges that seem to be much harder than we are able to bear. In today’s Scripture we are given three admonitions that appear to be impossible for us to obey: ALWAYS REJOICE, ALWAYS PRAY, ALWAYS GIVE THANKS.
What about the times when our world is turned upside down and we feel like we’ve been dropped inside of a tornado? When I stop to think about it, those are the times when I need to be most blessed to have a God in heaven who is stronger than the storms of life. It is in the midst of the ordeals of life that the Lord is able to use my situation for His divine will to be done.
In Acts 6 we meet Stephen, a glorious believer during the times of the early church, who was fully committed to doing the will of God in spite of the oppression from the very men responsible for crucifying Jesus. Stephen did not allow their opposition to defeat him and was willing to sacrifice his own well being in order to proclaim the truth of who Jesus really was ― their promised Messiah.
The stones that the religious bigots hurled at Stephen could not do harm to his eternal soul ― he was already in Christ Jesus and he was at the gateway to glory. What a homecoming was waiting for him!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil