Thessalonians 5:16-18—”Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”
The one difference that stands out between a believer and an unbeliever is the peace and joy abiding in the former. Believers follow the Word which says that bearing whatever our circumstances we must at all times rejoice because we have a God who stands by us through it all. We ought to pray and communicate with God continuously throughout our day. We ought to praise Him and give Him thanks for the good and the not-so-good because this is the will of our Father and therefore this is what we want to follow all the days of our life. Why do we want to follow this rejoicing in our not-so-good times? Because we, in faith, believe that God knows best. God knows our timelines. He allows the not-so-good to happen, to mould us and change us to become more like Him, to grow into the maturity that is needed for the next plan where He is going to place us. We are not aware of this and so we trust in God. He knows and will see us through it all. How many people can you count who has your back come what may and would put you first before their own child? That is God’s love – the love that He has for you. Once we taste this love, nothing holds us back to taste more, to know more, to see His face and follow His ways.
This is the life of joy that God intended for us and this is exactly what Satan cannot stand about God’s children. So Satan whispers doubts and lies in our ears to steal away from this cup of joy that God has promised us. “A truly religious life is a life of constant joy. And we should rejoice more, if we prayed more. If we pray without ceasing, we shall not want matter for thanksgiving in every thing. We shall see cause to give thanks for sparing and preventing, for common and uncommon, past and present, temporal and spiritual mercies. Not only for prosperous and pleasing, but also for afflicting providences, for chastisements and corrections; for God designs all for our good, though we at present see not how they tend to it.”
“Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. In that day you will not question Me about anything Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”(John 16:20-24)
