Rejoice always, pray without ceasing

In Paul’s letter to the church in Thessaloniki, he instructs them to, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.”

We can hear them, read them and on many days say, “Yes, Amen.”

But what about the days or the moments when that doesn’t seem to make any sense.

You just lost a job, a loved one, a dream — rejoice? Give thanks?

Oh, we’re praying, but rejoice and give thanks, that’s a tough pill to swallow. Or is it?

When a loved one dies, we grieve, but we also remember the smiles and laughter of having them near.

It is why their absence hurts, we miss them.

Yet, we celebrate; rejoice and give thanks that we had them.

God does not promise that if we follow Christ, life will be unicorns and rainbows, easy peasy with a sweet lemon squeezey.

Rather, Jesus told his followers, people are going to make life difficult for you, but love them anyway.

We don’t get to decide what is going to happen to us during the day, we do get to decide how we respond to what happens.

So “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances” and love unconditionally.

Be bold, be strong.