Always be joyful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16
“Sorry, we need to cancel; it’s a bad week!” Two families had plans to get together, but no matter how many times they rescheduled, they’d yet to meet up.
First, one of the children was hospitalized. Then, the other family got Covid. Next, there was a lice infestation! Both families kept waiting for life to calm down, but the realities of busy lives, health setbacks, and issues out of their control kept getting in the way.
Ever feel frustrated over life’s inevitable urgent deadlines, sick kids, or unexpected responsibilities? Maybe they make you feel like you’re failing. Often, our unspoken, underlying goal is for life to be easy. But life isn’t only good when it’s easy. And life can still be shared when it’s messy. Sometimes, you’re only able to catch up with a friend on the phone because of sickness– that’s still meaningful! Your best time to connect with your kid might be while combing lice out of their hair for hours. That’s still precious time together! God is in the mayhem with us, teaching and leading us.
Here’s the key to meeting God in today’s chaos: learn to see the hard things as still capable of being good. The Bible book of 1 Thessalonians says these impossible words: “Always be joyful” (I Thessalonians 5:16). This doesn’t mean you should always be grinning ear to ear and happy. But it does means that you can always find God’s goodness each day, even amid hard weeks. Sometimes, especially in the challenging weeks.
What are the hard things in your life teaching you right now? Have unexpected blessings come out of those hardships? Rather than branding life as just good or bad, learn to see God in the easy and the hard. He’s with us in both.
