HOW DO I COPE WITH THE STORMS OF LIFE? Eph 5:20 ... ALWAYS giving thanks for ALL THINGS in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 1 Thess 5:16 Rejoice ALWAYS 1 Thess 5:18 IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. These three instructions which are incorporated in this spiritual law, will not make sense to the computer between our ears: Always THANK God the Father for everything Always REJOICE In everything be THANKFUL (note: IN and not FOR) 1- Have we looked closely at these instructions? 2- Do we realise their implications? 1- Do we know what the words always and IN everything mean and imply? 2- Do we know what the all-encompassing implications of the words thank, rejoice” and thankful when coupled with the words always for everything always and in everything, are? As human beings we are inclined to couple emotions such as joy, gratitude and excitement to the good things that happen to us, but Paul also couples it to negative and bad things. How else can I always be joyful and grateful for everything in my life seeing that bad things also happen to me? Let us look closely at this matter so we can see what God actually wants to accomplish in us. Basically God wants to change two matters in and for me and then thirdly, in the process He wants to be glorified: He wants me to be victorious in the storm He wants His power to be revealed so that He is glorified in the process (Joh 11:4) He wants to transform our sadness into joy 1 Thess 5:18 IN everything GIVE THANKS;, FOR THIS IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOU IN CHRIST JESUS. I am not thankful when I am fired at work or when my home’s roof blows away or my child runs away, but when I activate the spiritual law in the midst of my illness or unhappiness by praising and worshiping Him, I activate the spiritual law WHICH GOD BRINGS INTO MY SITUATION. According to verse 18 I then move into God’s will. Do you see that it is God’s will that I be thankful IN everything? If I had to be thankful FOR everything it would mean that I must be glad and thankful that I have been fired, that my home’s roof blew away and that my child ran away. That would have implied a stoical resignation which is totally contradictory to normal human behavior. But if I rejoice and am thankful IN my circumstances, even though I exhibit normal human behavior by being sad when a child dies, etc., it implies that I do not have a pity party with the devil, crying and complaining and being angry and bitter toward the Lord. The moment I begin praising and worshiping Him in my grief, I rise above my circumstances and when that happens I am a conqueror in and over my circumstances. Let us see what happens in the spiritual realm when I activate my joy according to verse 16: Let us look at Nehemia’s view of this spiritual law: Neh 8:10 Do not be grieved, for the JOY of the LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH.” The Hebrew word Ma`owz translated as strength is described by the well-known linguist Brown, Driver and Briggs as follows: 1. place or means of safety, protection, refuge, stronghold a. refuge (of God) (fig.) So the joy of the Lord is our spirit man’s place of safety, protection and refuge. The devil cannot get to us when joy is part of our spiritual amour, as joy is as a stronghold wherein we shelter and are safe. Therefore it is not strange that the enemy goes all out to steal our joy, because if he succeeds, we are without our stronghold where we are protected against his attacks. Think of it, when we get up in the morning with a song in our heart and find out that the electricity to our house has been cut off for some or other reason, which means I can’t make coffee or bath/shower in hot water or dry my hair, my joy goes down a few degrees. When I want to go to work and find the car has a flat tyre, my joy goes down another few degrees. When I want to phone my boss to tell him I will be late, I realize that my cell phone must be somewhere in the house. After a lengthy search it is found in the toilet, where the toddler had ‘put’ it. Now there is no more joy in my spirit! When I have not yet learnt to be thankful at all times I am nearly always without that spiritual refuge and protection around my spirit man which he needs so badly. It is only joyful and thankful hearts that can truly worship and praise God amid negative circumstances. Let’s see how Habakkuk handled this spiritual law: Hab 3:17 Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, through the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, Hab 3:18 YET I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Hab 3:19 the LORD God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk truly lived a life of thanksgiving at all times, as the fact that in the midst of the poor circumstances in which he found himself, he still rejoiced, tells us that he found himself within the thick walls of the stronghold of joy. This man had no tea party with the devil. This is an indication that we should rejoice IN our circumstances and not FOR our circumstances. Let’s look at Job’s handling of this spiritual law: Job also lived within the thick walls of joy. When he received the tragic news that his children had died in an accident and also that he had lost all his possessions, he refused to leave his refuge when he declared the following: Job 1:21 ..naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed by the name of the LORD. Job 1:22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. He definitely did not visit with the devil, nor did anything negative issue from his lips, only rejoicing. His poor wife did not find herself in the stronghold of joy and from her words it would seem that she had been listening to the wrong man: Job 2:9 Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!’ Job 2:9 And his wife said to him, Are you still keeping your righteousness? Say a curse against God, and put an end to yourself. (Bible in Basic English) She tells him to curse God and then commit suicide. Let’s see how James viewed the spiritual law: James 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. (The word ‘trials’ covers the whole spectrum of sadness, misery and problems) James 1:2 My brothers and sisters, you should be very happy when you experience many kinds of troubles (Holy New Covenant Translation) Let us look at Peter’s view of the spiritual law: 1 Pet 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed (experienced sadness) by various trials. Peter knew about this law and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he penned this phrase, which seems very confusing to those not aware of this law. He uses a strong word to describe the emotion we should experience during our misery, namely REJOICE ... The word rejoice is derived from the Greek word agalliaō and is defined by Joseph Thayer, the well-known linguist, as follows: to exult, rejoice exceedingly, be exceeding glad This same word agalliaō/rejoice is used in the context of our unprecedented and exuberant joy when we are with Him in heaven: Rev 19:7 Let us rejoice agalliaō and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. Although it doesnt make sense that we must rejoice when we land in some or other devastating sadness, it is the only way we can quickly gain the victory. It is the only way to activate the spiritual law, which brings God to our side to help us. We have seen how many people activated this same law to their advantage during times of sadness and misery. All of them rejoiced and this removed the sting of grief from their broken hearts and they could rise as conquerors above their circumstances Habakkuk rejoiced in the Lord Job praised the Name of the Lord James considered trials a joy Peter considered various trials as a reason for rejoicing Let us look at the spiritual law from David’s viewpoint: Psa 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. We have seen how Habakkuk, Job, Paul and Silas lived out this spiritual law and how Nehemiah, James and Peter confirmed it. Let us see how it operates: 1 Thess 5:16 REJOICE always. Thess 5:18 in everything give THANKS; for this is God’s WILL for you in Christ Jesus. When some or other trial overcomes me and I decide to activate the law of joy, I find myself in the stronghold of shelter where the devil won’t have an opportunity to rub salt in my wounds. Although my heart might be broken and I have to work through traumatic situations, I conquer in the knowledge that, even though I don’t understand what has happened to me, I know that the Lord will bring full healing and relief in His time. God knows exactly what we need, but we need to remember that it is important to bring Him into our situation by our glad and thankful rejoicing: Psa 22:3 Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. God is enthroned upon our praises and this is the reason why Habakkuk, Job, Paul and Silas praised Him, as this is the only way we will get His hand in motion, when He is delighting in our praise and thanksgiving, which is His will for us. The Bible says that God knows the desires of our hearts: Matt 6:8 ........ for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. We don’t always have to ask Him for what we need, He knows what we need and when we lose ourselves with our heartache in Him, He not only supplies our needs but also our desires. Psa 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; AND He will give you the desires of your heart. The way God walks with us doesnt always make sense, but it is important to remember that it is the only route to victory and relief.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 16:43:31 +0000
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