Three Holy Habits

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – ESV)

God’s Word is His will and His will is the believer’s way. Sometimes as Christians we are guilty of using the Bible as a tool in order to make God a tool to do our will, but God wants the Bible to make us a tool to do His will. God’s will isn’t about getting there faster and avoiding all disaster. Think about John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, and our Lord Jesus, and think about what it means to be in God’s will because they were definitely doing it. Sometimes we want some specific directional things when we aren’t even facing in the right direction in the first place.

This passage of scripture points us in the right direction. If we will do these three things that the text instructs us to do, and be concerned with developing them as holy habits in our lives, then we will be doing God’s will and be walking God’s way. Then as we move on, the path will become clearer, and we won’t have to be worried about asking for directions, we will be headed to the right place already.

Now Paul gives us instruction about God’s will also in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6, and so do the other books of the NT, and so on and so forth. Yet this text is especially important to the subject because it is the framework of how we should be focused when seeking, doing, and living in God’s will. This passage grounds and guides us to be doing His will on our way.

God cares about our future, He does help us make decisions, He does direct our lives, and He does give us wisdom. He does want us to pray about it. There is no doubt God sometimes guides us in such a strong way that we have no doubt about the direction we should go, but we shouldn’t always seek that, or wait for it, even with the biggest decisions we face. We can be frozen in fear, or superstition, and yet think we are being spiritual. God does not want us burdened about discovering some hidden pathway when He has already made the main path crystal clear. When we are looking for His will of direction it is found along the path of following His will of desire.

This text is one sentence; these three things are all bound together as the framework for doing God’s will. In other words, when we are in the process of seeking, doing, and living in God’s will, if we do these three things our ambition will be directed towards God. When we are living out the will of God wherever the path takes us, we will be on the right path.

Rejoice always – Philippians 4:4 (in the Lord, and our justification) / James 1:2-4 (in our fashioning, our sanctification) / 1 Peter 1:3-9 (in our future, our glorification)

Pray without ceasing – Luke 18:1 / 2 Corinthians 1:11 – a prayerful attitude, atmosphere, a willing sense of God’s presence, everywhere is a sanctuary

Give thanks in all circumstances – Ephesians 5:20 – “always” means timing – “everything” means events – in all circumstances not for all circumstances – in everything God is there.

When we are in the process of seeking, doing, and living in God’s will, we do it this way: we keep a joyful disposition, maintain a constant prayer life and cultivate a thankful attitude. When we will be developing these three holy habits, God will fashion us as a tool, as the instrument of His will. Be a tool in God’s hands and He will make sure you do His will.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©