“Always be joyful. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Messiah Jesus concerning you!” (1Thess. 5:16-18)
No longer will we pay homage to the gods of this world or to the second-hand cast-offs of theological mediocrity; they are gone forever! God is in full control and everything is good! This simple truth is engraved in the lives of all who embrace it and nothing will quench our eternal debt of thanks to the Author and Finisher of our faith!
“35 Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 37 But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35;37-39)
Now since these things are true, we aren’t deterred. What an exchange! From death to life, sorrow to joy, slavery to freedom; despair to hope. There is no longer any place for fear! Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new!
You may think you have nothing to give. Wrong! As contained within the beautiful well loved hymn: “Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
There is a story of a Jewish peasant boy who came to the big town to participate in a synagogue service. He didn’t know how to pray. He could not even read the Hebrew letter ‘Alef.’ He only saw that people were gathering to participate in the holy prayers. He thought, “If everybody is going to town I must go too!”
He arrived at the town’s synagogue with his father and watched the congregants crying and singing together swaying to and fro. He turned to his father and asked, “Father, what is this all about?”
His father turned to him and said, “The Holy One blessed be He, sits enthroned in the heavens and we pray all year long to Him.”
The son responded, “Father, what am I to do since I do not know how to pray?’”
His father quickly said to him condescendingly, “All you have to do is be quiet and listen to the other Jews praying. That is enough for you.”
“Father, if I don’t know what these people are saying how is being silent going to help me?”
His father became unnerved and blurted out, “Listen, you should be quiet so no one will know you’re an ignorant peasant!”
The son stood still for a couple of minutes as his father and the rest of the congregation continued praying, and then the young boy stood up and spoke loudly.
“I am going to pray to God in the way I know best. I will whistle to God as I whistle to my flock of sheep.”
He began whistling the sweet calling as most shepherds know. His father was enraged but the boy continued whistling with all his might not caring what other people thought.
Never forget that our best is always good enough for God. His approval is infinitely greater than the world’s applause! In this is contained our sweetest reward!
