Last night my wife and I were at Cycle class and the instructor said, “Welcome to 2024, New Year, New You.” Then quickly said “No, it’s still the same old you, but will you choose to push through to make a change.” That put a fire in me, and I left it all on that bike last night. Then this morning I decided to get going on the post I teased you about 3 days ago. We are starting a series today called “The Call on Our Life,” in which we will be unpacking the Apostle Paul’s succinct, yet very powerful instruction from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT) that will lead to victory in our life…This will be our theme verse that we will continue to go back to.
“Always be joyful.
Never stop praying.
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
This passage first hit my radar over a decade ago when my little girl (who is now a college graduate and married) told me what her favorite bible verse is. Today, we will be looking at verse 16 – “Always be joyful.” A key differentiator that we need to understand is that Joy is not happiness. Happiness is based on circumstances being favorable. I shared this quote from Rick Warren in the ★ Day 14 – Reason for the Season – Joy to the World ★ post which seems fitting to revisit as we just celebrated Christmas and now trying to keep those New Year Resolutions:
“My problem was my definition of joy. I thought joy meant feeling good all the time. That’s impossible! Even for those who are naturally upbeat and optimistic, that’s impossible…
Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.
You’ll find nothing in that definition about happy feelings, because, as we all know, happiness is fleeting and temporary.”
Happiness is fleeting, only Joy remains! Joy transcends happiness and is regardless of circumstances. But there are roadblocks that we must persevere through, in order to fulfill this instruction. What is perseverance in your mind? I know I have been fixated on this a lot, my last 2 posts have been on this but indulge me as I believe the Holy Spirit has more to say on this topic. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Perseverance is the “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.”
I love that definition because it activates something primal in me. Two months ago, I went to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park and did a 4.1-mile hike to reach the highest point in Texas (8,751 Feet to be exact)! Before the trip some people questioned:
“Why would you do a 4.2-mile hike with a 3,000-foot elevation change?”
And my response “BECAUSE IT’S THERE!” I’m not going to lie, when I looked up the elevation gain to Guadalupe Peak, I was taken aback because the highest peak I climbed was Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona which only has a 1,264-foot elevation gain in 1.14 miles. It took significant effort and at points, I was not sure I was going to make it but I pushed through and reached the summit and enjoyed this majestic view of God’s creations.
I don’t know about you, but when you hear about overcoming a physical mountain, that is invigorating but what Paul is challenging us to do is climb an emotional one which is far, far more difficult in my opinion. When the battle is in our mind, it needs to be conquered in the spiritual realm through the help of the Holy Spirit but wait, I am getting ahead of myself. We are still at “base camp” so to speak, and I need to first lay the groundwork.
Whether a Christian or not, adversity comes into the lives of every single person whether through “bad luck,” bad decisions or what Christians know, through spiritual warfare (because we have an adversary). Perseverance is a common thread that connects a believer and non-believer alike. Tony Evans recently preached at my church (10/15/2023) and reminded me of a reality I know but all too often forget about…
“You’re either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or heading into a storm.”
So, knowing this to be true…What have you had to persevere through in the last 6 months? For me 2023 has been the year of change that has brought unending stress and pressure both professionally and personally that has made it the toughest time in our family’s life, you can go back to these posts to read if you want ★ Life is Ball Game ★ / ★ What I RE-LEARNED in 2023 ★. I will say, just for context I am ashamed to say it, but with all that activity personally and professionally, God slipped in my priorities. In my personal Bible Study, I have not made this a priority. I have allowed the stuff of life here in this temporary life, to crowd out what is important…Service to God and sharing the Good News to all I encounter.
The truth is we WILL, NOT MAY face trials, hardships and adversity that perseverance is required in order to overcome.
Jesus Himself said in John 16:33 (NLT)…
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
In the interest of not having you scroll forever in this post, I wanted to do a lighting round of scriptures so click here. So, based on those verses and your own life experience, what do you see as the (3) Causes of Adversity? Think about it before you scroll down…
I believe they are:
- A Result of Spiritual Warfare: There is adversity like in the case of Job, we go through NOT because of sin BUT because of Spiritual Warfare.
- A Result of Our Own Bad Decisions: Then there are hardships that we have to endure because of bad decisions which the Galatians 6:7-8 clearly illustrates.
- A Result of a Trial that God will use to Transform Us: And finally, there are the storms of life that we must persevere through which will transform us if we accept it. If we do, I believe we can achieve the first goal set by the Apostle Paul to “Always be Joyful.” But that will take discipline, a word that no one really likes but.
There is a Benefit to Discipline! Hebrews 12:1-12 is the “go-to” passage on this topic in which the unknown author makes the case that “God’s Discipline Proves His Love for us.” Assuming you clicked on that link, what stands out to you in these 12 verses, what hits you the hardest? For me, it’s Hebrews 12:10-11 (NLT) which says:
“No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening — it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.”
I love that passage because like in my cycle class and on that mountain, disciplining my body is painful but I love the results. In the same way we are called to discipline our minds that when we find our faith dwindling, we need to take a beat, and remember that Jesus persevered through the disrespect, torture, and death on the cross to save us and give us hope that we too can live the overcoming life and “always be joyful!” It will take effort though, we must stay vigilant in reading the Word EVERY SINGLE DAY, not out of obligation but for strength and to be reminded of the faith that we profess. If anyone is not reading the Word every day, then I would encourage you to start. If there is a blockade to doing that or you don’t know where to start, then get in a Bible Study. Nothing changes, if nothing changes!
If you are interested, here is the next post in the series ★ Thought for the Day – The Call on Our Life – Part 2 – Never Stop Praying ★
★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★
Here are some additional passages on Perseverance: 1 Timothy 4:7-8, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 4:12, Hebrews 13:14, James 1:13-15, 1 Corinthians 15:58
★ “Back to the Basics” – Silencing the Noise ★
★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★
★ Thought for the Day – Life is Ball Game ★
★ Thought for the Day – What I RE-LEARNED in 2023 ★
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[…] in a series called “The Call on Our Life” which is based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. In Part 1, we discussed that there are roadblocks we must persevere through to achieve the state to “ALWAYS […]
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