God’s Will For His People (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)

At this time of year people might be making a few different lists. There can be lists of work we need to complete before we get some time off over Christmas and New Year, things we need to do to prepare to celebrate Christmas, grocery shopping lists for the food we need to get for family lunches or celebrations, or lists of gifts we need to buy for family or friends.

One list that a lot of children make at this time of year is their Christmas wish list. This is the list of gifts they hope they will find under the Christmas tree from Father Christmas or a family member. These lists aren’t just for children. Adults can also write their own Christmas wish list, especially if people don’t know what to buy them or if there is something in particular that we hope for. No matter what age we might be, a Christmas wish list can reflect something about our priorities, our values, and what we hope for.

If God was to write a Christmas wish list, what do you think might be on it? We might find it hard to think about God having a wish list because God is the Creator of everything around us and everything is already his. What more could God possibly wish for?

If we think about a wish list as detailing what we want or desire, then the Bible reveals to us what God wishes for. For example, in this Sunday’s New Testament reading from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, we read these words:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 NIV)

This is one of the passages in the New Testament where God’s word gives us some insight into God’s will for us. The Greek word that is translated here as ‘will’ can also be translated in a few other ways, such as ‘want’, ‘desire’, or ‘wish’. When Paul writes that ‘this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus’ (v18 NIV) we can also hear him telling us that this is what God ‘wants’ for us, what God ‘desires’ for us, or what God ‘wishes’ for us in Christ Jesus. In these verses, Paul is giving us God’s wish list for us.

Let’s have another listen to what’s on God’s wish list for us. God wants us to ‘rejoice always’, ‘pray continually’, ‘give thanks in all circumstances’, not just the good or fun times, to ‘not quench the Spirit’, ‘not treat prophecies with contempt’, and ‘hold on to what is good’. These present us with a lot to reflect on and discuss as we explore and meditate on what each of them means, how they look, and how they can shape our lives, relationships, and community.

This text generated a lot of discussion when Pastor Eugene used it as the basis of a devotion and Bible study during the week. To ‘rejoice always’ doesn’t mean we have to be happy all the time, but in all of life’s up and downs we can find a deep and sustained joy in God’s grace. ‘Praying continually’ can mean our whole lives are offered to God as an ongoing conversation with him. ‘Giving thanks in all circumstances’ can mean finding God’s goodness in every situation, no matter how hard or painful it might be. ‘Not quenching the Holy Spirit’ can look like producing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and using our spiritual gifts to serve, bless and love others. ‘Holding on to what is good’ can mean clinging on to what is good for us and for others, even when it’s easier to do what’s wrong or others are doing wrong to us.

If we think of these verses as God’s wish list for us, it can seem overwhelming. This is a very high bar to set for our lives, especially when we are going through difficult times, facing difficulties or challenges in our lives, or when we are experiencing physical, mental or spiritual pain. If we view this list as what God expects us to do, then it can appear to us to be too hard, or even unrealistic for Paul to say this is what God wants to see in us.

Instead of viewing this list as an expectation, we can see it as a gift. Instead of thinking that this is what God wants to get from us, like a lot of Christmas wish lists can be, what if these are gifts that God wants to give us through faith in Jesus? This is where God’s will for us as his people becomes good news for us, when we start seeing this as God’s Christmas wish list for us as his people instead of what God wants to get from us.

When we read these verses as a promise rather than an expectation, we can find what God wants for us and not from us. Our loving heavenly Father wants us to live with a deep and sustained joy in all situations because of his gracious presence with us through the birth of Jesus. Our lives can be a constant prayerful connection with him because of the new relationship we have with him through Jesus. We can give thanks in all circumstances, both good and bad, because in Jesus he promises to be with us no matter what, and work for the good of all who love him and are called according to his purposes in Jesus (Romans 8:28). We can embrace the Holy Spirit in our lives because we can trust that through the Spirit God will be giving life to us and to others through us as the Spirit unites us with Jesus and builds us up as the body of Christ. We can be open to God’s prophetic word as it points us to Jesus and speaks his good news into our lives. We can hold on to what is good because we trust that that is where we will find full and abundant life which we can also share with others.

Most lists people might be writing or sharing at this time of year can be about what we have to do or what others want from us. When God reveals his will for us in these verses from Paul, it is vital that we don’t hear them as demands or expectations. Instead, these are the gifts God wants to give to us through faith in Jesus and what he wants to do in us through the Holy Spirit. As we trust in God’s presence with us through the birth of Jesus, his love for us in Jesus’ crucifixion, in his victory over sin, death and evil in his resurrection, and his promises of a full and perfect life, God gives us what he wants to see in us. Following Jesus in faith, hope and love will lead us further into a life of joy, ongoing prayer, thankfulness, and goodness as the Spirit works freely in us and we grow in God’s prophetic word of grace. This is God’s wish list for us this Christmas and through our whole lives. We find all of these in the gift of his Son and everything he gives to us through him.

More to think about or discuss:

• What is your reaction to what Paul writes in verses 16 to 22? Do you think a life like this is possible? Or does it seem overwhelming? Why do you think that about these verses?
• How might hearing these words as what God wants to give you instead of what he wants from you help you understand God’s will for your life? How might they be expressions of God’s grace to us in Jesus instead of expectations?
• Which of these do you find most difficult? How might focussing on God’s gift of his Son & his unconditional grace to you through him help it show more in your life?