Finding Peace Among the Hectic
The holidays can be so hectic! To-do lists are jotted on our iPhones or scraps of paper. We delight in deleting items or crossing them off. Can we get these tasks accomplished? Will we make it in time? In a cursory look at I Thessalonians 5:16-24, we see another to-do list, and we notice some holiday words like joyful, thankful, and peace.
Ugh, another to-do list? Always be joyful? Never stop praying? Be thankful in all...? How can I do these things? These are impossible, aren’t they? We can do these things, but not on our own! The answer is in the last two verses of the section, “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and make your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful” (NLT). Thanks be to a faithful God, we can...
Be joyful!
Pray regularly.
Keep the fire of the Holy Spirit burning brightly.
Listen to God’s Word.
Don’t believe everything I hear, but do believe in God’s Words.
Recognize and flee evil.
Hold on to the good.
Paul’s benediction tells us that the God of peace, the Holy Spirit within us, helps us complete this list of tasks. Our faithful God gives us the power to accomplish these. Happy holidays indeed!
-Deb Holloway