Walking With Godনমুনা

DAY EIGHTEEN

Rejoice! For This is the Will of God Concerning You!

Everywhere you look these days, people are hurting. They're getting desperate to hear from God, and to know His will for their lives. Are you one of those people? If so—get ready. I'm going to tell you God's will for you right now in the midst of the trouble, heartache, whatever trial you're facing. "REJOICE EVERMORE. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS: FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS CONCERNING YOU." (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

That's it! That's the will of God for you. "Oh, no, Brother. You don't understand. I need to know if God wants me to change jobs; who I should marry; if I'm called into the ministry...." Hold on! If you're not willing to obey the instructions God has already given you, how are you ever going to hear more? You have to start with what you know. He didn't say to rejoice evermore if everything is working out, or pray without ceasing if every time you pray, you see instant results or give thanks in everything if you're not going through anything bad.

He said give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything. There's a difference. You don't thank God FOR trials. You thank God IN trials. It doesn't matter how bad your circumstances are, you have reason to rejoice, and I'm going to show you why.

The first reason you don't have to worry about your situation is this: GOD IS FAITHFUL! He will not permit you to undergo any test beyond your endurance. Whatever crisis there may be in your life, before it ever came, God made sure you would be able to endure it. If God thinks you are able to endure it, then it's time for you to line up your thinking with His. Why even consider defeat if God has already equipped you to win? There are people who have gone through exactly what you're going through right now and made it through in victory. SO CAN YOU!

Here's another reason you can rejoice. God has promised that with every temptation, He will make A WAY TO ESCAPE! This means that trials and "escape-ways" are inseparable. But the devil doesn't want you to know it. That's why every time you're going through a test, he keeps telling you, "There's no way!" I learned a long time ago, when the devil keeps pressuring me with that, it's always an indication that "the way" is about to be revealed.

The problem with most of us is we get tunnel-visioned; so focused on the trials, that we quit looking for a way out. All we do is talk about the trial. We need to do exactly what God says. REJOICE! Why does He want us to rejoice? The joy of the Lord is your strength! If you don't have joy, you won't have strength.

Joy comes from the Word. You have to read the Word constantly to have joy. You may sleep and slumber, but the devil won't. The moment you open your eyes, he'll say, "You're not going to make it. This trial is going to kill you!" But the devil doesn't have any defense against joy.

Let me tell you what it means to rejoice. One meaning of the Hebrew word rejoice is "to brighten up." Put a big smile on your face. Another meaning is "to spin around." A third meaning is "to leap." So, the next time you're in a trial, here's the way you're going to respond: smile, spin, and leap.

"I thought I needed faith to get through these problems." You do! Faith is like dynamite. It will blow your mountain of problems into the sea. But JOY is the fuse that ignites it! So, go ahead. Light that fuse!