Reflection - 33

 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thes 5:18

St. Paul commands that to be joyful always, to pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. May God bless us to have constant joy, constant prayers and absolute thanks in all circumstances which God had done in our life.

BE JOYFUL ALWAYS

 JOY is a short form of three words-Jesus, others and you. True joy comes from Jesus. Luke 2:10 says, “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’” Jesus is good news of great joy. Jesus is the source of our joy. When we do not have Jesus, we lose our joy. The Magi from the east rejoiced when they found the baby Jesus. (Matt. 2:10) How can we be joyful in our difficult human situation? Romans 5:3-4 says, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, confidence; and confidence, hope.” So we can be joyful in sufferings because there is God’s plan behind them.

PRAY CONTINUALLY

 What does Paul mean “pray continually”? “Pray continually” means that God’s people must have a constant spirit of prayer. Praying is spiritual breathing. Praying is deepening our love relationship with God. Prayer is a powerful weapon against anxieties, temptations and despair. Jesus is the good example for a prayerful person. Jesus prayed from the beginning of his ministry to the end. (Lk. 3:21) Jesus prayed very early in the morning (Mk. 1:35) Jesus prayed at night (Lk. 21:37). Jesus’ last words recorded in Luke were a prayer: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.  Once His disciples  asked him to teach them to pray. So he taught them the Lord’s Prayer: “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” So as we are the children of Jesus we must pray for others. We must pray for God’s kingdom to come in our hearts, our neighbours and our nation. Through this prayer we come to God our heavenly Father.

 GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

Many times and many situations we will ask some questions to ourselves that Why is it so important to have a thankful attitude all the time?  How can we give thanks in all circumstances? We should give thanks to god in all circumstances even in suffering. Our Lord Jesus Christ shared his last meal with his disciples. His heart was heavy with the suffering he had to face. Yet he took the cup, gave thanks and shared it with his disciples. He also took the bread, gave thanks and gave it to his disciples. So we also should have the mind of thankful to God for giving this beautiful life, our call to priesthood, care and love which we are receiving from Lord Jesus. So dear brothers let us live in an attitude of gratitude even in the small things of life.

Let us be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

Bro. Rijin P. Elias