Do You Know God's Will For Your Life?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

ur text today consists of three short commands, concluding with the explicit affirmation: this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  I am confident that most of us would concur that it is a very good thing to be able to say that we know the will of God for our life.  During the years of my service to the people of God I have invested countless hours counselling people who were seeking the will of God for their individual lives.  Usually I associate those grappling with this question as being youthful, in their teens or perhaps in their early twenties, and usually the search for the will of God centres around their desire to marry in the will of God or around their desire to know God’s will concerning their life work.  On yet other occasions I speak to men and women grappling with great changes in their life, perhaps the possibility of a new career or a change in their trade or perhaps the prospect of an impending move to a new city.  These individuals question what is the best thing for them in that particular situation.  Times of transition have the effect of challenging us to ponder the will of God for our life.

            At the outset, permit me to state that I am somewhat uncomfortable with the idea that God has mapped out a detailed plan for us which lies hidden from us and which demands that we grope about like a blind man in darkness.  At the best, such an idea is uncharacteristic of our heavenly Father.  At the worst, such an idea smacks of Gnosticism.  Rather do I discover that God gives us freedom to do and freedom to be, but always within clearly defined moral and ethical boundaries.  For example, while I believe that I chose the better path when I entered into pastoral work and left biochemistry, I do not see, nor have I ever sensed, that I would have sinned had I chosen to remain in research.  God gave me freedom and opportunity to find fulfilment in either endeavour, requiring only that I perform my work to His glory and that I labour in an honourable fashion.  In a similar vein I do not believe that Lynda would have sinned against God had she married someone else.  She had opportunity to marry others and she enjoyed freedom, but God was merciful to me and gave me a wonderful wife whom I love dearly.

            In at least five instances in the New Testament we are given specific knowledge of God’s will.  It is the will of God that believers resist conforming to the pattern of this world even as they are transformed through the renewing of their mind [Romans 12:2].  It is the Lord’s will for believers to live careful lives, seeking to be filled with the Spirit [Ephesians 5:17].  God’s will for believers is that they be sanctified, and especially that they avoid sexual immorality [1 Thessalonians 4:3].  God’s will is that believers silence the ignorant talk of foolish men through doing good [1 Peter 2:15].  Lastly, it is God’s will that believers fulfil the three commandments which we see listed in our text this day.  In order that each of us may say with conviction: “I assuredly know God’s will for my life,” please join me in a careful study of the text.  Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18].

Be Joyful Always — Pavntote caivrete, Be joyful always.  This is the first imperative given in our text revealing God’s will for our life.  Of all peoples on the earth, a Christian ought to be marked by an evident and sincere joy.  Too many believers are creatures of extremes, appearing either to have been baptised in pickle juice or appearing uproariously brash.  We desperately require a sense of balance if we will honour God’s command.

            The imperative which Paul employs here is usually translated rejoice in our New Testament.  Consider some instances where the verb is used.  On three separate occasions the Apostle commands saints to rejoice in the Philippian letter.  So you too should be glad and rejoice with me [Philippians 2:18].  Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord [Philippians 3:1]!  And yet again: Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice [Philippians 4:4]!  Clearly joy should mark the life of the child of God if this letter has any meaning at all.  We would not expect that Paul was alone in commanding believers to express joy as an overarching characteristic of life for the saint.  Peter likewise instructed suffering saints to rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed [1 Peter 4:13].

            The Thessalonian Christians gave evidence of joy, abounding joy, despite every reason to be glum and in the face of every imaginable obstacle to joy.  You will no doubt recall Paul’s earlier assertion of these suffering saints: in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit [1 Thessalonians 1:6].  Their joy in the face of trials became the source of great joy to the Apostle [1 Thessalonians 2:19,20].  But this should be no great surprise to the student of the Word, for prominent among the fruits of the Spirit is joy [Galatians 5:22,23].  Joy is a mark of spiritual people.  Gloominess and glumness marks an individual as unspiritual.

            There is neither command to be happy in the Word of God nor any such promise of happiness, though there are multiplied commands to rejoice.  God offers joy to His child and He expects that child to reflect this heavenly commodity.  I wonder if you have ever considered what it means to be joyful.  Some years ago near this time of year a catchy little song became popular throughout North America.  “Don’t worry.  Be Happy.” was on the lips of everyone.  As a philosophy the song’s thesis was an abject failure; but it struck a responsive chord in the population.  People desperately long for happiness!  People want to be able to cease worry and to be happy.

            Did you ever consider the contrast between happiness and joy?  Happiness is ephemeral and ethereal, a will-o’-the-wisp which is always unattainable, seemingly just out of reach.  Joy is presented as the settled possession of the child of God.  Happiness is dependent upon external factors and conditions.  Joy is internal and independent of conditions or situations or possessions.  What we possess, where we are situated, by whom we are recognised, these are the factors necessary for happiness; but joy grows out of who we are and arises from our relationship to Him who is unchanging and eternal.  Because life is transient and because our conditions are dynamic the constant change insures that happiness shall ever be transient.  Walter Reuther, United States labour leader of another generation, when asked what would make him happy spoke an immeasurable truth when he replied, “A little more.”  A little more!

            Happiness is dependent upon factors always just a little beyond our reach.  The student will be “happy” if only he or she can get a passing grade; but life is greater than that one mark.  The labourer will be “happy” if he or she can only get a small raise in income; but that raise is quickly eaten up by inflation.  Management will be “happy” if only they are able to become a little more efficient in production; but the competition is likewise improving efficiency.  The single will be “happy” if only he or she can get married; but marriage brings its own demands.  The married will be “happy” if only his or her spouse will change; but change is elusive and never quite sufficient to bring the happiness sought.  So it goes and happiness is always just a bit further than we can reach.

            The means by which a Christian can fulfil the divine imperative is found in the commands which follow.  Joy is the promised fruit of the Spirit and that fruit grows only out of the holy seed which is planted when we believe the Gospel.  You shall never know joy until you know the author of joy.  You have no hope of joy until you are transformed by the author of joy and thus enabled to become joyful.  I categorically reject any thought that anyone other than a redeemed child of God can have hope of joy either in this life or in the life to come.  Having been reborn by the Spirit of God, having been made alive to Christ by the redemption of the Spirit of God, having been freed from condemnation, the child of God may then anticipate joy as he or she cultivates the field of life and as he or she encourages the growth of spiritual fruit through prayer and through encouragement of a thankful heart.

Pray Continually — Ajdialeivptw" proseuvcesqe.  Only two words in that original language as is true in our English language, but how pregnant with meaning are those two words.  The adverb ajdialeivptw" is common in that ancient tongue.  The word was used of that which was continually and repeatedly done: the uninterrupted necessary payment of hard taxes; the continual service of an official; a continual and unremitting cough; the regular and consistent production of fruit.  The verb proseuvcesqe is the more comprehensive term for prayer and can include all the other words for prayer.  Praise and petition, weeping and waiting, crying and calling, wait on the Lord without ceasing.

            This command, the first means given by which we may anticipate becoming ever more joyful, is for the benefit of and for the obedience of the Christian.  It is to be anticipated that the child of God does pray.  Throughout the Word of God it is assumed that the Christian prays in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests [Ephesians 6:18].  Never would I discourage the outsider from praying, but I am duty bound to remind all who are yet outside the love of God of the warnings provided by the Wise Man which are found in the Proverbs.

The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked,

but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

The LORD is far from the wicked

but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable —

how much more so when brought with evil intent!

[Proverbs 15:8,29; 21:27]

Did you take note of those verses?  Notice especially the firmness with which God rejects the plea of and the efforts toward propitiation by the outsider?  The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked.  The Lord is far from the wicked.  The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable.  The Living God will not be manipulated or controlled by those who refuse His grace and His mercy and who seek only to use Him for their own ends.

            The wicked have nothing to offer God!  The sinner has nothing with which to please God.  The outsider can give nothing which will appease the wrath of Holy God.  The Psalmist, writing in the Fiftieth Psalm speaks for God when he warns:

But to the wicked, God says:

“What right have you to recite my laws

or take my covenant on your lips?

You hate my instruction

and cast my words behind you.

When you see a thief, you join with him;

you throw in your lot with adulterers.

You use your mouth for evil

and harness your tongue to deceit.

You speak continually against your brother

and slander your own mother's son.

These things you have done and I kept silent;

you thought I was altogether like you.

But I will rebuke you

and accuse you to your face.

“Consider this, you who forget God,

or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:

He who sacrifices thank offerings honours me,

and he prepares the way

so that I may show him the salvation of God’”

[Psalm 50:16-23].

            Child of God, pray!  Do what is natural and speak to your Father.  Our Lord Christ encouraged His own, saying that we should always pray and not give up [Luke 18:1].  And what is the command before us save an iteration of that blessed encouragement.  When the way grows dark, let the child of God pray.  When it seems that no one is listening, let the child of God pray.  When all alone and feeling deserted by man and God, let the child of God pray.  When fear threatens to steal peace, let the child of God pray.  At just such time as most apparently forsaken, let the child of God seize upon the promise of God and pray.  God has said,

“Never will I leave you;

never will I forsake you”

[Hebrews 13:5].

Child of God, pray, knowing that you are never alone and that your Father ever hears.

Give Thanks in All Circumstances — Ejn pantiV eujcaristei'te:.  Three words embrace every imaginable situation in which we may find ourselves … in all circumstances.  Circumstances include persecution and trial as well as times of reward and recognition.  Can the child of God actually fulfil the demands of this command?  Is it not Pollyannaish to seek the presence of God in every situation in which we may find ourselves?  Would it not be considered folly-wide-the-mark to look at life with a view to finding the hand of God at work in any and in every situation?  Will we not be charged with looking at life through rose coloured glasses if we give thanks in all circumstances?

            I am always struck by the power of opening verses of the letter which James wrote the early saints.  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything [James 1:2-4].  How can the child of God consider trials as pure joy?  Careful study of the verse will demonstrate that it is not the trials which we are to welcome but the presence of Christ which sweetens the times of testing and enables us to persevere.  Even in the midst of trial we can give God thanks that we are not deserted and that He ever watches over His own.

            You may recall the verses penned by the American poet, James Russell Lowell.

Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne –

Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own

[The Present Crisis, 1844].

These inspiring verses present a comforting truth for the child of God.  Though all the world appears to be in the grip of wickedness and though lies appear to prevail throughout the land, yet the child of God is never deserted to his foes.  The trials of this life are momentary, fleeting, transient, just as our Apostle has affirmed: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us [Romans 8:18].  Call to memory that rich encouragement which is provided us in 2 Corinthians 4:17,18.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

            The troubles of today are light and momentary; they are unworthy of comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us.  I remember a story from the southern United States which relates an account of a simple man who lived down in the poorer section of town.  In attendance at the services of his church the people were encouraged to share their favourite verse.  When opportunity was afforded this uneducated man to give his favourite verse, he surprised everyone by stating that his favourite verse was the one which read, and it came to pass.  The pastor was visibly astonished and made inquiry as to the reason why this would be a favourite verse to the old chap.

            “Ah, preacher,” began the old gentleman, “life is hard and I has my share o’ trials.  But whenever trials come I jus’ ‘members that they came to pass and not to stay.”

            His words may be poor exegesis but they are excellent theology!  Can you not see that though none of us could desire trial or testing, persecution or pressure, yet we have been given a wonderfully glorious promise that our God will reveal Himself to us in the midst of trial and pressure?  For such a precious promise we can give thanks.  No trial will continue forever, and through the pressure we will be refined as pure gold.  Amen.

            I won’t dare speculate on the source of every trial which we may be called to endure, but I know that many of them arise from outside our influence.  Neither dare I speak of my own little trials, but I do recall that God worked mightily in the midst of the greatest evil the world ever witnessed to bless many.  When Jesus the Son of God was crucified for the sin of man, God was mysteriously at work.  Though the heavens were darkened and though the sun hid its face and though the earth heaved with great convulsive sobs, God was at work.

            Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me [Mark 15:34]?  Listen!  Do you hear the Son of God crying out to the undisguised joy of the religious leaders who were His tormentors?  These words are a quotation from the opening verse of the Twenty-Second Psalm.  The religious leaders were so removed from the language of their fathers that they did not even understand what He said.  They thought He was calling for Elijah.  But the Son of God was not forsaken for in that dark hour when evil appeared forever enthroned, God was at work making atonement, providing redemption, purchasing salvation.  That same Psalm continues to this glorious conclusion:

For he has not despised or disdained

the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him

but has listened to his cry for help

[Psalm 22:24]

            Dear people, if God can bring such good from the greatest evil ever perpetuated in the earth, then what can he do with my little trouble?  If God can bless so richly in the midst of such hurt and harm, can He not make me a blessing as I submit my brief problems to Him.  Long years ago the patriarch testified of God and I also seize upon the divine promise and affirm, Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him [Job 13:15].  I will give thanks in each and every circumstance, for I am convinced that God is good and that His promises are certain.

The Impact of Doing the Will of God — May I press the appeal, making the appropriate application for each of our lives.  If somehow you are not yet a Christian, if somehow you have missed the grace of God and failed to submit yourself to the reign of Christ the Lord of Glory, the message has no doubt appeared futile for you.  You perhaps will have heard my words but you cannot understand what they mean.  If somehow you have never made Christ Lord and thus Saviour of your life, the service to this point has no doubt been an exercise in futility.  You need to be born from above and to have the Spirit of God live within so that you may live together with us.

            If you are not a Christian, joy is an illusion and beyond all possibility for your life.  My plea to you, dear outsider, is that you would receive the grace of God in Christ the Lord.  This is the message of the God who lives and who gives life to all who are willing.  Believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.  You may respond that you do not know what it is that you must believe.  Believe that Jesus is Master.  Believe that He died because of your sin.  Believe that He raised from the grave for your justification.  Believe that He will receive you, that He will forgive your sin, that He will give you His life, that He will bless you with His presence and the joy which attends His presence.

            His Word promises that if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved [Romans 10:9,10].  This is what you must do now if you will be saved and if you will discover everlasting joy.  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved [Romans 10:13] is the promise extended to all, and it is this great salvation which serves as the portal into joy and fullness of life.

            The remainder of my remarks are for my fellow believers, you who call on the Name of the Lord and whose names are known in the courts of heaven.  There is no merit in living a life noted by gloom and darkness.  It cannot glorify God for His redeemed to live as though the light of life was forever extinguished.  Jesus, in the days of His flesh, exhibited life which was noted for its vibrancy, for its scintillation, for its joy.  Wherever Jesus was there was rejoicing.  Likewise, resurrected and ascended into the glory joy is the gracious gift He has left for His own.

            Consider these words Jesus left us.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete [John 15:11].  I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.  You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.  A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.  So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.  In that day you will no longer ask me anything.  I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete [John 16:20-24].  I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them [John 17:13].

            Child of God, if you will have joy it will come from a close walk with the Risen Son of God, the Lord of Glory.  Joy will attend constant and immediate submission to Him, seeking His face in prayer continually.  Joy will attend an attitude of thanksgiving, knowing and confessing that Christ the Lord is ever with you in each situation and that He cares for you.  As you pray continually and as you give Him thanks for His grace in everything, you will discover His joy.  This is the will of God for you.  Amen.