Have you ever wondered, “What is the will of God for me and my life?” You are in good company since it is probably the most often asked question I have heard in all my years of ministry. We often agonize over “the will of God,” wondering about specific jobs, where to live, relationships, locations, or major decisions we are confronted with. While those are the things of life that matter to us in the day to day, Paul tells us plainly what God’s overarching will is: that we would live in a state of joyful, prayerful, and thankful union (think abiding in) with Him.

This type of living is described by Paul as being personal; it is will of God “for you” in Christ Jesus. Because of this, living in the will of God is not a burden or something we need to strive in our own strength for but, rather, it is the outworking of simply abiding in Him with a heart anchored in constant joy, prayer, and thanks. This is the type of living we were designed for, a life where we, like the branch with the Vine, simply abide in the Lord, rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in all things, allowing God to work in and through us to prove out His perfect will in our lives.

Contrary to modern thought, the exhortation of 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 does not consist of three impossible commands: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances…” I mean, how can someone possibly maintain a perpetual state of joy and prayer along with a thankful heart in a world increasingly filled with grief, distraction, and hardship? The key is found in final words of the passage: “in Christ Jesus.” The exhortations of this passage are not a call for us try harder in the face of the opposition this world brings; they are a description of what it looks like to abide. When Jesus told His disciples in John 15 to “abide in Me,” He was inviting them into a life where the branch does not struggle to produce fruit—it simply stays connected to the Vine. 1 Thessalonians 5 gives us a picture of what that abiding connection looks like.

Rejoicing Always
“Rejoice always” is not some out-of-touch with reality call for positivity, it is the foundational truth that biblical joy is different from happiness. Happiness is situational and circumstantial, depending on how I feel about what is going on in my life or around me, and therefore it is temporal and fleeting. Joy, however, is a fruit of the Spirit, a fruit that grows from and as a result of our relationship with Christ. In our relationship with Christ, as we abide in Him, we are anchored in the truth that we rejoice simply because our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life, and not because everything is perfect in our lives. Abiding in Him means embracing Him as our greatest treasure and finding our life and security in Him, secure in the fact that nothing in this world can take away or touch our source of joy. To “rejoice always” is to choose to look at the Vine rather than our struggles with a quiet confidence that He is good and that, in Him, we will always find victory regardless of the foe we face.

Praying Without Ceasing
Many of us struggle with praying “without ceasing” because we traditionally view prayer as an activity we do by setting aside time to focus on a specific list of requests, a time that has a start and end. But in the context of abiding in Christ, prayer is better defined as a continual conversation, communion, and fellowship with God; it is a “with God” life.

When we abide, we move through our day with an open ear toward Heaven. We don’t go to God in prayer; we stay with Him in prayer. We involve Him in every moment of our day, whether routine or remarkable, keeping our communication with Him open and acknowledging that without Him we can do nothing of spiritual consequence. “Pray without ceasing” is the spiritual counterpart of physical breathing; as maintain an attitude of praying without ceasing we are able to “inhale” His needed grace and mercy while “exhaling” our fears, worries, and anxieties.

Giving Thanks in All Circumstances
The most challenging part of this passage is the exhortation to “give thanks in all circumstances.” This is truly where the rubber meets the road stuff! The first thing to note, though, is that Paul does not say to give thanks for all circumstances. We aren’t being asked to thank God for struggles, hardships, agony, or hurt; however, we are called to be thankful in the midst of them. This is only possible when we are truly abiding, when we are trusting in the divine Vinedresser to work all things together for good (Romans 8:28). Disconnected from the Vine, not abiding in Christ, our difficult circumstances feel like there is no end, like we have been forsaken by God. But in Christ, we can display the ultimate evidence of trust amid hardship, gratitude. We can say, “I may not understand this situation, but I know the One who is in it with me.” By giving thanks, expressing gratitude, we our focus becomes what we have in Christ, and our hearts remain soft toward the Spirit’s leading, protecting us from bitterness.

Final thoughts… Try as it might, a branch cannot force itself to produce a grape; it must simply stay in healthy connection with the vine. So, if you find yourself lacking joy, don’t try to produce joy within yourself but, instead, simply gaze on Jesus, reminding yourself of Who He is and thanking Him for what He has done for you. If you are struggling in the midst of your difficulties to be thankful, start small by thanking Him for the breath in your lungs. And remember these three exhortations as you abide in Him, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances…,” and let them increasingly become your natural, moment to moment manner of life with Him. Selah…