Laced With Grace

1 Thessalonians tells me I need to “rejoice always”. Why? Why do I always need to be thankful? Have you ever asked yourself that? I sure don’t feel thankful all the time, and some days all I “think” I have to be thankful for is my next breath. So why does God command us (me) to “rejoice always”.

Paul said he has learned to be satisfied in all circumstances (I Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you). Why? I sure know many circumstances I have read here in bloggyville just this week, where I sure would not have been thankful. I read of painful pasts, health problems, and people enduring struggles that blow my mind. Are you telling me I need to rejoice and they need to be satisfied in the painful circumstances they have been given? Sometimes that just stretches my mind.

Did you know Paul said these words after being forced to leave Thessalonica because of legal action taken against him? There were Jews hostile towards him and his message. He was not in the best of circumstances, jail was being threatened. And during this circumstance, he sat and wrote “rejoice always”, “and give thanks”, “be satisfied”.

What Christ is saying through Paul is that we should give thanks in all things, but we don’t have to be thankful for all things. There is no way someone hurting is thankful for what they are going through, but during this time of suffering they can give thanks. A person just diagnosed with cancer is not thankful they have cancer, but they can give thanks.

Give thanks for Christ dying on the cross, give thanks that through the cancer Christ will walk every step with you, give thanks that Jesus promised never to leave you or forsake you. As Christians we were never promised an easy life, in fact we were warned of the possibility of a more difficult life. But the difference is Christ walking by our side. Paul knew that no matter what he faced (beatings, shipwrecked, prison, and some thorn we don’t know about, etc..) , he was going to be satisfied because having Jesus is having it all.

If you ask any Christian going through a major ordeal, they will say having Jesus by their side as their comfort and guide is the best thing they have right at that moment. Many times those of us on the sidelines, don’t know what to say, what to do; our human nature is to “do” something, something to take the pain away, but only Jesus can do that. What we can do is….PRAY. And let me tell you, those of you I pray for I count it a privilege.

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering,
Though there’s pain in the offering,
Blessed be Your name,
Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise,
When the darkness closes in,
Lord Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

PS-I just wanted to make readers of my personal website www.laurelwreathsreflections.com, aware that my RSS reader is not working and most likely is not giving you updates on my posts. I just did not want to lose all of ya’ll =)

On my personal blog, I have been chronicling my participation in the May Day Weight Loss Challenge. My participation has kept me accountable and humble – having to admit my struggles with weight loss. My husband and I have been consistently working out since January with a fairly strenuous workout plan.

Have I seen results? Yes, albeit very slowly. My pre-pregnancy clothes now fit. My size has shrunk. Physically I feel better. I have more energy. I am less prone to sickness. All this exercising consisting of running, walking and weight training, has definitely led to a healthier lifestyle and I am now closer to a healthy weight. You can say that my physical side is being well taken care of. As important as taking care of my physical self is, the spiritual side of me needs to be “exercised” daily too. 1 Timothy 4:8 says,

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promises for both the present life and the life to come.

The original Greek word for “physical” is Somatikos meaning “in bodily form.” Obviously, Paul is talking about the value of taking care of our physical bodies. Interestingly enough, the value in taking care of our physical bodies is realized only in this life. When we get to heaven, we will have new bodies. The care, or lack of, received while in this life will not matter. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 says,

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power, it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”

To the contrary, taking care of our spiritual development holds promises for both this life and our new life in heaven. God has promised us eternity with Him when we believe, repent of our sins, turn our lives completely over to Him and become a new creation. The New Testament Lexical Aids describe the word phrase “to come” in 1 Timothy 4:8 as, “to be about to do something, often implying the necessity and, therefore, the certainty of what is to take place.”

We can be certain our eternity is secured if we have become a new creation in Jesus. But we must grow spiritually while in this life. As members of God’s family, we can build our spiritual maturity with the consistent and thorough study of God’s holy word, sitting under sound doctrine, surrounding ourselves with godly friends, serving in our local church and many other ways. With all the false teachings and theologies that are infiltration today’s church, it is vitally important to move beyond the infancy stage and into spiritual maturity. The benefits will be in this life and the life to come. Ephesians 3:14 says,

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”

Taking care of my spiritual growth has to take priority over my physical growth. If I can take the time to work out physically, I can make the time in my day to work out spiritually as well.

Dear heavenly Father, Your love is amazing and I want to grow in Your word and grow in intimacy with you. Father, I pray that you will give me wisdom and knowledge to understand your word and to see Your will in my life. Give me a longing and hunger to spend time alone with you. Thank you for your amazing love.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! – Ecc 4:9-10 NIV

I’ve been both oppressed and blessed this past week.  I’ve seen victory and defeat.  I’ve felt frustration and joy.  I’ve experienced the power of Satan to discourage as well as the strength that comes from God to overcome.  And as I type this and reflect upon my week, I realize that while I’ve had these experiences on my own, I’ve also shared different but similar circumstances with a good friend.  Fortunately, I think that our ups and downs came at different times so we could be there to help each other “up” either through a listening ear or through prayer.  That is the beauty of friendship, isn’t it?  I thank God every day for my friendships.  They are precious gifts from God.

Teamwork should also not be forgotten in the realm of Christian service.  It is because of a spirit of teamwork toward a common goal that the ladies of this group devotional blog write day after day.  It is because of this teamwork that no matter what goes on in someone’s life, there will most likely be a devotional every day because someone will step up to fill the need.  That is teamwork.  Two are better than one because the load is always lighter when it is shared.

Finally, I must mention that when God is brought into the mix of any relationship or team, great things will be accomplished.  Satan’s power will be diminished.  Souls will be strengthened.   Christian service, in spite of the heavy emotional burdens that accompany it, can be fun.   Where one person may falter, when another person joins in their journey and brings along the power of the Holy Spirit in prayer, the team becomes hard to beat.  As the bible says:

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. – Ecc 4:12 NIV

As Christians, we are all co-laborers in this journey of life to accomplish God’s will for His Kingdom.  My question to you is, are you an active part of someone else’s life?  Are you part of a team?  Can someone or a team count on you to lift them up in prayer or offer a helping hand or a listening ear?  We must stick together for the best “return” on our labor.  We can’t afford to let our fellow laborers fall down and stay down.  The stakes are just too high.

Dear Father in heaven, I thank you for who you are to me and for the people you have put in my life to encourage and pray for me.  Thank you for allowing me the priviledge to do encourage and pray for others as well.  Thank you for being that third strand in a cord of friendship that enables us to keep on pressing on for you no matter how bumpy the road becomes.  I pray for those who feel alone that you will connect them to others in this journey of life on similar paths so that they too can see your power through the relationships in their lives.  Amen.