“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
A barefoot baby is happier than a baby wearing the most expensive shoes. If babies have full bellies, dry diapers, a few toys and a loving family, they are content. Many children enjoy time outside, crumbling leaves in their fingers and playing in a plastic swimming pool.
Children can teach us how to be happy.
As parents, grandparents and caregivers hear the cries of children and do all they can to comfort the little ones, the Heavenly Father hears our cries and complaints, and brings more comfort and assurance than anyone else. As God preserved Israel through the wilderness, He takes care of us. “Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. They they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress” (Psalm 107:4-6).
Though pain and problems are real, God wants us to learn to have grateful hearts. Even if problems stay with us, those troubles seem smaller when we pause to pray and praise God anyway. We should think more about our blessings and less about our burdens. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
When we focus on God’s goodness, we weather the storm of life better. Trouble is temporary, but God wants to give us happiness forever through Jesus Christ. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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