Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circ

1 Thess 5:16-18 Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances.
The obvious will of God for us is to rejoice, to pray and to give thanks. If we add the adverbs 'always, continually, in all circumstances' to the words, it really challenges us. The joy of Christians is above the circumstances. If our joy is subject to the circumstances, that is not the will of God.
When the apostle Paul sent his letter to the Philippians, he was in prison in Rome. But he did not lose joy, but said to them, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again ; Rejoice !"(Phil 4:4) He could rejoice even in the prison. It was not because he was crazy, but because he was with Jesus, the source of joy. Calvin also told about it, "Jesus is the source of joy. By him, we can rejoice in any circumstances."
Brothers and sisters, aren't you now in grief and sorrow ? Aren't you now angry ? Aren't you now depressed ? The people of the world easily lose joy in the hard circumstances, because they do not have the joy of Jesus. But we have the joy of Jesus which transcends all circumstances. Therefore we can rejoice even in the hardest time.
Of course, we Christians also have troubles in this world. We also face many problems. But we can rejoice by the joy of the Holy spirit. He helps us. He comforts us. He heals us. He gives us peace and joy. He lets us know the great love of God. That's why we can rejoice always by his Spirit. Bible tells that Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit.(Luke 10:21) And the bible says, "You welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit."(1 Thess 1:6)
My beloved, we look defeated, but we are victors. We look having nothing, but possess everything. We look dying, but we live on. We look sorrowful, but always rejoice.(2 Cor 6:10) And our joy continues even in this foreign land, because God, Jesus and the Holy spirit are always with us in this foreign land.
We are joyful because of the great salvation which Jesus has given to us. We are joyful because we work for Jesus whom we love so much. Working for Jesus is the great privilege to us. And it is the reason that we can rejoice even in this foreign land.
Today God says to us, "Be joyful always." It does not only mean, "Do not grieve." but "Rejoice actively." The word 'always' means "Even though you lose health, even though you have no money, even though you face a big problem." My beloved, do you want to accomplish the will of God even in this foreign and ? If so, rejoice always. That is the will of God toward us in Christ Jesus.
And today's scripture says, "Pray continually." Prayer is the attitude that we look up to God, we trust in God, we follow God. Prayer is the act of acknowledging God as the almighty God. God loves the person of prayer. God works for the man of prayer. And he wants to show his will to the man of prayer.
Therefore Jesus also prayed overnight. And the apostle Paul confessed, "Night and day we pray most earnestly."(1 Thess 3:10) And the prophet Samuel confessed, "As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you."(1 Sam 12:23)
Brothers and sisters, prayer is the breathing of our spirit. The Christian without prayer is like a dead man. Without prayer, we easily grumble and complain. But if we pray, we can get the power, wisdom and knowledge of God. Therefore we have to pray even though we are busy, even though we do not feel praying. Bible says to us, "Devote yourselves to prayer."(Col 4:2) "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clearminded and self-controlled so that you can pray."(1 Peter 4:7)
As you know, Daniel was the prime minister of Babylon. He was the busiest man in the country. But he prayed three times a day. Why ? Because he acknowledged that he could not do his works without prayer. He could be saved even in the den of lions through the constant prayer. And he could get the revelation about the last times from God through prayer.
Brothers and sisters, I ask you to pray everyday even though you are busy in this foreign land. Bible asks us, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.(ph 6:18) Jesus says to us, "You should pray always and not give up."(Luke 18:1) "This kind can come out only by prayer."(Mark 9:29) "The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."(James 5:15-16)
And today's scripture says, "Give thanks in all circumstances." The Greek word 'en panti' means 'in all circumstances'. That means we have to thank in all circumstances even when it goes bad. The words 'give thanks in all circumstances' does not mean 'conditional thank' but 'unconditional thank'.
But people in the world lose thanks and happiness because of the relative conditions. For example, they complain even though they have ten thousands dollars. Why ? Because the other has one hundred thousands dollars. But the bible tells us, "Give thanks in all circumstances."
If you try to find the conditions of thank, you can find a lot of them even though you are in hard circumstance. Let's see Paul and Silas. They were severely beaten and imprisoned because they preached the gospel. But they found the conditions of thank. So they praised God in the prison. Then the door of the prison opened and the chains came loose. So another condition of thank was given to them.
Let's see Job. All of his sons and daughters were dead because the house collapsed on them. And he lost everything he had. And he had painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. But he gave thanks to the Lord. And the Lord said, "He is a blameless and upright man."
Brothers and sisters, the devil always whispers in our ears, "Be sorrowful always. Slander him continually. Complain in all circumstances." But today Jesus, says to us, "Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances."