Rejoice, Pray, and Give Thanks!
Steve Fairbanks
11/7/20241 min read
SWAHILI VERSION
We can know God's will
As I wrote this message, I kept coming back to that story of the old woman with the stick - it perfectly captured how we often approach seeking God's will. There's something both amusing and deeply true about our human tendency to say we want divine guidance while secretly hoping it matches our predetermined desires. This became my anchor point for exploring the three key practices from 1 Thessalonians.
I structured the message around rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks because they provide such a practical foundation for discerning God's will. The hiking-with-a-friend analogy for prayer emerged as I was wrestling with how to explain "praying continually" in a way that wouldn't feel overwhelming or impossible. These three practices aren't just arbitrary commands - they're transformative habits that help reshape our own will to align with God's, which is ultimately what that woman with the stick was struggling to do.
View this message here (begins at 54:50)
Doing everything in love,
--Pastor Steve
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