Will

" Be joyful always, pray continuously, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. " 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ( I do believe)

Right, be joyful always. But today just isn't a " happy " day. I don't feel in a great mood and my emotions aren't running on feelings of wonderful excitement. My gosh, thats just it. The joy has remotely nothing to do with these things at all. What I'm describing above has everything to do with being happy. My happiness has to do with my " happenings." In other words, " my circumstances." So joy isn't based on my circumstances or emotions then. Truthfully, I understand that I do have joy, yes, even when my circumstances have been very painful. And that comes from when you understand the there is so much greater that does exist outside of yourself. In other words, coming to the assurance and the conviction that there exist a greater purpose to my life that I don't have the ability to produce by myself. And that this purpose is made known to me from something which is greater than myself.
Pray continuously - Ever asked deeply, Why Pray? Some have answered because its a great way to get things answered. Others say its a good way to connect with God. Most often I have heard it used as a " if you pray, you will hear what God has to say" way. I'll be honest, I have definitely not heard many times what God has to say on the issue that I have prayed to Him about. I have wrestled many times with my reasons for praying. I have used it at times as a " formula " to get things fixed. Other times because I didn't know what else to do. If I truly do believe prayer has great value then why would I ever do anything without praying with God about it. Why would prayer ever become 2nd choice to how I approach a decision, situation, or anything else to matter. Pray not to serve my needs but simply to Glorify God! See, get prayer in my head that it is something in which I was created for - to commune with God, to communicate with Him. Why the heck would I ever not want to do that?
Give thanks in all circumstances - Images of the " always happy people " immediately come to my mind when I hear this. The person who never has anything wrong. Rather uncomfortable if you ask me. Giving thanks - to give thanks when a close friend dies, to give thanks when one is dealing with hard medical situations, to give thanks when people turn their back on you....about the only way it seems possible for me to give thanks in these situations is if the ability to do so comes from some other source...Ummmm, this sounds rather familiar to that whole " joy " topic...So in order to give thanks in all circumstances it would take something inside of me, something other than myself, to give me the ability to give thanks...God's Holy Spirit is not some mystical weird thing. If you think so, I challenge you to do you darnest to take the time to read what it is about but even more to seek God for understanding as to what this Holy Spirit does...It is the power for being able to do the will of God - for being joyful always, prayig continuously, and giving thanks in all circumstances...