Jeremiah 25: 15-38, Jeremiah 26, 1 Thessalonians 5, Proverbs 4: 20-27
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-22 (ESV)
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not
quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast
what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
In verses 21 through 22 from 1 Thessalonians 4 Paul gives
the Church of Thessalonica in the closing of this letter to them, a final set
of instructions for how to live if you are a person of faith. Paul first day to
always be happy, because whatever comes your way comes from God. Paul then says
people of faith need to pray without ceasing and give thanks for everything
that happens in our life. Whatever is happening in our life is the will of
Christ for us to bring us closer to God. Paul then says do not doubt the Holy
Spirit, nor are we to despise prophecies. We need to test everything and pray
to God for its meaning and hold on to what is good. And finally, to stay away
from all evil.
The hardest part of Paul’s instructions for how to live as a
person of faith is to always be happy and to rejoice in everything. I think it
takes a tremendous amount of faith to regard everything that happens in our
life as a part of God’s plan, especially in a season of trouble. But Paul’s advice
to test everything is the answer to this kind of doubt.
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