God commands us, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).” Sometimes I can do this, but often my response is, “Yeah, right, NO! I don’t want to! I can’t! Are you kidding me? How do you expect me to do this, in the midst of troubles, hardships, and sufferings? Do you even see what I’m going through here?” How do you rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, in the middle of pain and hurt?
Something helpful for me has been JI Packer’s thoughts. “God gives us trials to overwhelm us with a sense of our own inadequacy and to drive us to cling to Him more closely … God fills our lives with troubles and perplexities … to ensure that we shall learn to hold Him fast. The reason why the Bible spends so much of its time reiterating that God is a strong rock, a firm defense, a sure refuge, and help for the weak is that God spends so much of His time bringing home to us that we are weak, both mentally and morally, and dare not trust ourselves to find or to follow the right road … God wants us to feel that our way through life is rough and perplexing, so that we may learn thankfully to lean on Him. Therefore, He takes steps to drive us out of self-confidence to trust in Him, to wait upon the Lord. In light of that, we do not despair, we are not without hope, because God is the one on whom we have set our hope.”
Another something helpful for me has been George Swinnock’s thoughts. “When we were naked, restless, famished, wallowing in blood, gasping for breath, waiting for demons to send us to the dungeon of darkness, God looked on us with favor. He clothed us with his righteousness and satisfied us with flesh that is meat, indeed, and blood that is drink; he gave us rest. He bound our wounds, raised us from the dead, freed us from bondage, adopted us as children, accepted us as righteous, married us to his only begotten son, made us heirs of all things. He dwells within us by his spirit, carries us on eagle wings, leads us through the wilderness of the world, brings us to a heavenly home.” You can rejoice, pray, and give thanks for these truths, even in suffering.
Hardships and difficulties are real. Suffering is real. God has not abandoned you, one of His people, if you are His people. He is with you there in the midst of the pain and sadness. He doesn’t will doom or destruction for you, but to bless you, in Christ. His will for you in Jesus is to rejoice, pray, and give thanks, for His glory and your benefit. Your greatest comfort, hope, and peace in a crisis is to rejoice, pray, and give thanks.