1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in all things give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

What I want to know is, how in the world can we ‘give thanks in all things”, in every event; irrespective of its apparent goodness or badness relative to our lives?   The short answer is, there is only one way.  And that one way is that we don’t really focus on the outcome of events in our lives, because we’re focused on something else.  The only way we can do that is if we are focused on God, on His Presence, on His LIFE in our lives. We can only do that when we truly surrender our selves, deny our selves, die to our selves, and focus our entire attention on Jesus and what He wants.  When we do that we begin to be able to fulfill Jesus’ expectations for us, to fulfill His prayer in John 17; to become one with Him and the Father and with each other as He is one with the Father.  That’s the only way, the only condition, the only state of being in which we can experience what this passage says about Rejoicing and Praying and Being Thankful, IN ALL THINGS.  But that’s what Jesus wants for us, just like He said in John 17.  So we can’t give up.  We’ve got to keep on asking and seeking and knocking.  (surrendering and trusting, rejoicing, praying and giving thanks)