1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

For Meditation

His demeanor changed so quickly. A few minutes ago, David was a desperate father, pleading for the life of his son. Nathan had been very clear with God’s judgment when he confronted David over his adulterous conception with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife: “Because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die” (2 Sam. 12:14). Nevertheless, a loving father beseeched the Lord for mercy with fasting and supplication. But now the child is dead, and David has suddenly become a well-groomed, worshiping father, eating and drinking like nothing had happened (16-23). It doesn’t make sense, David; somebody may say and question David.

1. Why are you acting like this? Why not crying and grouching and be angry with God?
2. If He cares at all, why didn’t He respond when you fasted and prayed for your son’s healing (16)?
3. How could He be so cruel and unresponsive in your darkest hour?
4. After all your service and dedication to God, how could He be so unmerciful when you needed Him?
5. How could you continue to worship and thank Him for what He has done to you?

These are natural questions when people go through painful situations and terrible losses. But David knew better. I can hear him respond with something like this:

“Because He is still God and He continues to reign. I am still under His rule, no matter my lot; and because He is unchanging, I can still trust Him in everything. So, I thank and praise my God for who He is and His faultless deeds. He deserves His due in spite of my circumstances.”

That’s what David effectively meant in his response to his servants (22-23). Isn’t that wonderful?

I pray that you too can praise and thank God with David this morning for just who He is, in spite of your circumstances. For, God is always good and faithful. He is faultless in all His deeds and kind in everything He does or allows, even when it’s difficult to understand. Paul and Silas can attest to this by their midnight prison worship service at Philippi. We too, like them, can experience the power of praise, worship, and thanksgiving in our darkest hour (Acts 16:25-26). That’s why Paul tells us to “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18). He can relate to our distress, pain, and discomfort. Yet, he knows that our best option is to exalt Christ.

So: May you find grace to uphold you today, as you go through your deepest valley experience; and may Christ Jesus, who is able to empathize with your weakness in this crisis of faith (Heb. 4:15), release His peace to guard your heart and mind in Himself (Phil. 4:7)!

Shalom