Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I have a Bible website I like to go to in order to pull up various Bible verses and in different versions. This Bible verse was the verse of the day today. I really like this verse and I began to think about what it says. Taking each part and just thinking about it and expanding on it.
God wants us to “rejoice always” even when times are rough, maybe even more so! Rejoice that trials come. We don’t like trials, but they can have a benefit to help us to grow in so many ways. We might learn something, we might find strength, we might turn toward God for whatever He feels we need. Trials may not always be fun, but they are a growth experience, and we should rejoice that we have an opportunity to grow in whatever way it is.
We should “pray without ceasing”. People don’t always understand what this means. It does not necessarily mean we should be down on our knees praying constantly. What it means to me is to keep talking to God. We should throughout the day have our conversation going with God as if we are talking to our best friend. After all, He is our best friend.
“In everything give thanks”. This can be a hard thing to remember or even want to do at times. During loss and hardships, the thought of giving thanks never seems to come to mind. What should we give thanks for when things are tough? Giving thanks is just what we should do. Thanks for His protection. Thanks for His strength to get through all the hard times. Thanks for growth opportunities. Thanks for His love seeing us through anything and everything. Thanks for His being right there with us through any situation. Most of all, thanks for Jesus paying the price for us.
Heavenly Father, help me to remember to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing,” and “in everything give thanks”. Keep me on your path always. Amen