Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends on this Wednesday,
If someone was to ask you for wisdom in how to daily face the dysfunction of our world, I wonder what brief wisdom you’d give? What dysfunction? How about these which are top concerns around the world.
1. Corruption in leadership is destroying organizations and even nations all around the world, right? Do you see corruption in leadership where you live?
2. How about widespread greed, even in very high places, which can result in schemes and scams; bribery, tax evasion, cartel gang activity and even nations warring against each other. Are people being harmed by greed where you live?
3. And what about moral collapse in people and even many segments of society leading to social implosion?
Do you live immersed in dysfunction these days?
Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian Christians closes with words which are God’s answers to how you and I can live well when surrounded by dysfunction. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances…Do not quench the Holy Spirit…reject every kind of evil… for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-22). Does it sound too simplistic, even infantile? Do you view it as a ‘bury your head in the sand’ type of statement ignoring the obvious signs of great danger in a collapsing society? Is it impossible?
Have you experienced the power of “REJOICE”? Especially if “rejoice” is your choice in the face of disappointment, heart break, tragedy or worse? But where does the courage to actually ‘rejoice’ in tragic times come from? I find this is a frequent theme in both Paul and Peter’s letters in the New Testament. Perhaps because they suffered so many injustices like beatings and imprisonment and their crime was bringing the truth and hope of Jesus to people in despair.
Do you remember that Paul and Silas were rejoicing, singing in the middle of the night, in the Philippian dungeon, AFTER having been beaten and imprisoned without a trial? (Acts 16:25) Or Peter and the disciples of Jesus responding in a similar way after their flogging in Jerusalem. Acts 5:41. One reason followers of Jesus have rejoiced in persecution is the privilege of being so closely associated with Jesus! Do you see Jesus’ relationship with you as an honor for you even in very difficult situations?
Another reason for rejoicing in trouble is the assurance Jesus followers have that absolutely “nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:38,39) The assurance that God is present with His people in their suffering (Matt. 28:20) and God’s unconditional love for His people is unwavering and consistent in troubled times. Those are powerful catalysts for rejoicing in God’s promises in the midst of suffering.
A third reason for God’s people to rejoice is the wonderful reality that God is unchanging. “I the LORD do not change.” (Mal. 3:6) Thus, God today is omnipotent (all powerful) and omniscient (all knowing) and always Sovereign over every difficult situation in which we could ever find ourselves, does that encourage you? And our God today is the same God who was with Moses and the Hebrew slaves as God delivered them out of Egypt (Exodus 13:21,22; and the same God who was with Daniel in the lion’s den. (Daniel 6)
Our joy therefore is not in our power but in God’s invincibility! One of many Scripture promises which I hold tightly to when I need to choose to Rejoice in spite of difficult circumstances is Psalm 33:18-21 “They eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love…We wait in hope for the LORD, He is our help and shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.” Do you have the spiritual and emotional power to “REJOICE always”, even when facing dysfunction?
Paul also wrote “pray continually”. Do you rejoice in the great truth that God’s Throne room is ALWAYS open for you? No appointment needed, no payment required to buy a few moments of God’s listening ear! In the face of challenging situations do you celebrate that as Jesus died the veil in the temple was torn top to bottom opening the Most Holy Place and the writer to the Hebrews assures us that “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near to God with full assurance…” (Heb. 10:19-22) Do you, especially in troubling times?
Have you discovered the power of an audience with Almighty, Creator, Holy God in the face of difficult situations? As I write this, I had one of those situations just yesterday, and while the harsh reality of the situation did not change, the confidence I had that I could seek the wisdom and power of God in that situation, was very comforting to me, especially when I knew that God had seen it all and knew even more about the situation than I did!
One more thing I see Paul wrote to his Thessalonian friends which strikes a chord with me today: “Do not quench the Spirit of God.” (1 Thess. 5:19) Is it possible for me, a mere human being, to actually quench the voice, the work and power of the Holy Spirit in my life? Apparently so for Paul warns us about that. How would that happen? What could you or I do which would ‘quench’ the Spirit’s voice as HE is trying to teach us or guide us or correct us?
Well, how about refusing to listen to the Spirit or outright rejecting what the Spirit says to us and choosing a different course of action? And as we do that, we need to understand we’re building a callose of resistance to the Spirit of God? And with each additional refusal of the Spirit’s engagement in our lives, we need to understand that callose grows thicker to a point we no longer sense the Spirit’s attempts to engage with us in doing all the things Jesus promised the Holy Spirit makes available to us?
Do you remember in Ephesians 4:30 Paul wrote “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit”? Can you see a difference between grieving the Holy Spirit and quenching the Spirit? Can you see a person who grieves the Spirit is yet tender to the Spirit’s conviction and may repent and be restored to a close relationship with Jesus, but the person who quenches the Spirit has built such a callose against the Spirit that they no longer discern any work of the Spirit in their lives.
That’s why Paul concludes this great wisdom with this simple challenge: “…reject every kind of evil.” (1 Thess. 5:22) Now there is where the rubber meets the road for many people. Evil can appear enticing and harmless. But wisdom for dysfunctional times calls people to be wise enough to recognize every kind of evil no matter its social appeal or acceptance or even popularity. Are you that wise my friends?
Now we have a great deal to consider today and the ‘lessons learned’ at the link below will be very helpful to you. The song I’ve found should awaken hope in your heart and I’ll be here waiting for you again tomorrow, as we close out 1 Thessalonians 5.
Today’s Scripture: 1 Thess. 5:16-22.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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