As we approach the end of 1 Thessalonians, Paul offers the church three directives on how to live according to the will of God: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. But if we want the power to be able to live our lives this way, we need a great perspective of God and his providence. We are excited to be led through this passage by Thomas Barr!
Key Takeaway
God wants you to be joyful, prayerful, and grateful.
Rejoice. Your joy should stand out. Our joy is to be expressive because it's informed. Joy is the result of the Gospel. Joy is the product of the Good News of grace coming into your life. We can rejoice always because our source is unmatched.
Pray. Prayer acknowledges our dependence but it also assumes He's present. There isn't a place or a time we can go to where God isn't there. To fail to pray is not to do some religious rule. To fail to pray is a failure to see that God is God. It's to be blind to the reality of God. Prayer does not force God's hand, it acknowledges that God is God. Prayer, in essence, is not an arrangement of words—it's a constant God consciousness.
Give Thanks. The power of gratitude comes from our source. Thanksgiving will ultimately take us to the throne. It's an active conclusion to God. We can be thankful horizontally, but it ultimately leads us to be thankful vertically. We can't base our thanks on things. His goodness and steadfast love goes back into your past and your future.
Discussion Questions
It was stated that if you have no view of godly grace, then you don't have joy. How do you define possessing a view of godly grace?
Do you have a joy that can exist when things are hard? How can the two coexist?
Does it help you to approach God as a father in prayer?
Everything in the world reminds Paul of prayer. Is that true of you? How often would you say that you're thinking of God?
Thomas Barr says the great characteristic of ungodliness is "un-gratitude." How can we be stingy with our gratitude and tend to lean into a spirit of complaint?
What do you struggle with most: rejoicing, praying, or giving thanks?
What are tangible steps to take toward rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks?