God With Us – 1 Thessalonians 5

A text – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

5:16 Rejoice always,
5:17 pray without ceasing,
5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.
5:20 Do not despise the words of prophets,
5:21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good;
5:22 abstain from every form of evil.
5:23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5:24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

A reflection:

When Paul writes to his beloved community of believers in Thessaloniki, today the northern capital of Greece, his to-do list looks long and maybe hard to accomplish: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, test everything, abstain from evil…” Are these commands? How can we do all that? Life is hard. Rejoice always?

Verses 16-22 are all action verbs, with us as the actors, the do-ers of the action. But then look at verses 23 & 24. The Holy Trinity is going to be sanctifying us, keeping our souls and bodies sound and blameless, because the one who calls us, Jesus, is faithful and he will do this. If we believe in Jesus and his partners of the Holy Trinity, we are already actually works of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has already brought us to faith in Jesus and will keep us in that faith, will stir up the impulse to rejoice, will be listening to our prayers and thanksgiving, and will show us what is good so that we can hold fast to it.

In other words, we do not make our journey of faith alone. God has placed us on that road and accompanies us every step of the way. Paul is just encouraging his beloved friends in Thessaloniki to constantly notice God’s company on the journey. Notice how we are blessed, no matter what the other circumstances in our lives. Notice how we can make good choices and hold fast to them if we ask the Holy Spirit for help in discernment. We are never alone, and noticing that faithfulness of God can make our journey bearable, even joyful.

In challenging times, when much of what we see around us in the world would rob us of our joy, notice God at work, even in tiny things, and rejoice always in that. Smile at your neighbor. Savor a cookie. Be grateful for time with a friend. Let it sink in that God is with us forever.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being our companion on our journey through life. Even in hard times, help us to notice your presence and rejoice in it, for you are faithful and you are here beside us.  Help us to show our rejoicing to others as we walk around in our world today. Amen.