Packed into a few sentences Paul manages to give 7 treasured finds of what he believes God wants for our lives.
How should I live? It is in these 7 points.
What does God want me to do in life? It is in these 7 points.
7 hallmarks of a disciple; 7 acts of obedience; 7 proofs of genuineness.
They are straight to the point, no in-depth explanation and certainly no negotiation.
Here is the first one: God doesn’t want gloomy, negative, non-smiling Christians!
“Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5 v 16-22)
I couldn’t understand why after all the brutalisation from men she was so joyful. “God was with me throughout my suffering” was her answer. I then understood again that joy for the Christian isn’t about being happy with circumstances and things which change like the wind. But it is about being happy in the fact that God is present.
This is an act. To rejoice. I choose to do this. I don’t have to. But I do it because He is with me and He is with me in this situation and condition I find myself in.
Because He went through dark days yes I will walk through valleys.
BUT
Because He rose …I also … will rise! How do I know this? Because the Christian knows ‘God was with me’
So ask a friend what they see and no matter what is going in your life if they don’t see joy then begin to acknowledge that God is with you and start to rejoice about that fact.
In the good times and the bad times I will be joyful.
Missions Paul 