Jer 19:1-21:14
1 Thes 5:4-28
Ps 82:1-8
Pro 25:7-10
- 1 The 5:16-17
There are many difficult commandments. For me, this is one of them. Two reasons: first, joy isn't something we receive, it is something we choose to be. It isn't a product of our circumstances, it is the outcome of our decision. That puts the burden of joyfulness on me, and on me alone. And second, there just isn't any wiggle room - "always", "continually", "in all circumstances". No allowance for anger, for frustration, for sadness, for injustice, for cruelty, for crime - nothing. In all situations and at all times, I am to be joyful, thankful and prayerful.
Now I don't know about you, but there are many instances when this has been impossible for me. Some of them have been sudden bursts of anger; others have led to long-festering thoughts. But I suspect nothing I have faced can compare with what the Israelites had to look forward to based on Jeremiah's prophecy. And yet God's word is timeless, so the admonition to be joyful had to have been true for them as well - even as they faced the loss of their way of life and exile.
At first blush, this would seem pretty cruel of God - to ask that we be joyful amidst the pain He had permitted to come to pass. But the Israelites had fallen away so far from God, and had consistently refused to turn from their self gratification to obedience that God, who was still unwilling to give up on His chosen people, had no choice but to remove that which kept His people from Him. Funny enough, not unlike my taking my boys' video games away when those become more important than obedience and chores and school.
But it still isn't easy. I remember how my parents used to "punish" me when I didn't do what they required. I used to think it cruel. It was only when I got to know them - by becoming a parent myself - that I came to understand how much cause for gratitude there was in what they did. [Thanks again, Mom and Dad!]
But it still isn't easy. I remember how my parents used to "punish" me when I didn't do what they required. I used to think it cruel. It was only when I got to know them - by becoming a parent myself - that I came to understand how much cause for gratitude there was in what they did. [Thanks again, Mom and Dad!]
I think the same must be true with our Lord. And while we cannot expect to one day be God like Him, we can get to know Him, by spending time with Him in prayer and scripture, so it becomes apparent the love He has for us is why He permits the pain and the struggle. And while the challenges remain the same, knowing they are His will out of His love for us and for our own good, we may then be able to give thanks and be joyful. Yes, always.
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