Rejoice, Pray, and Give Thanks

17 Sep Rejoice, Pray, and Give Thanks

Read  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Thought for the Day: There is nothing fake about faith.

The saying “fake it ‘til you make it” sounds like a nice idea on the surface, but there is one giant glaring problem with it: faking it includes dishonesty. For starters, people don’t like being lied to in any circumstance. 2021 is a time where peoples’ tolerance for inauthenticity is at an all-time low. Our spouses don’t want us to pretend to listen. Our children don’t want us to fake being present and caring. In fact? Often it is young children who ask their parents to put away their smartphones when the parents are only pretending to be present. God asks us for whole hearts, not inauthenticity. It’s time to abandon this tired saying and replace it with something far better.

Writing to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul was clear: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” When we don’t know where to start, we don’t need to fake anything. Instead, we can remember the gift of joy. At the moments when our feelings and circumstances pull us down, inauthenticity is not the answer; joy is! Pretending that feelings or circumstances aren’t real solves nothing. However, praying and giving our burdens to God does. And – when all else fails, as disciples of Jesus, we can always choose gratitude.

There is nothing fake about faith. Putting our hope in Christ means letting go of the need to be anything other than an authentic follower of Jesus. The next time we feel we need to “fake it ‘til you make it”… we don’t. Let’s toss that tired phrase aside. Instead, let’s rejoice, pray, and give thanks!

In Christ,
Pastors Stan and David