In All Circumstances

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I remember how easy this verse seemed singing it as a song in vacation Bible school in 3rd grade. Why not be joyful? Why not give thanks in all circumstances? Life was easy and my hardest obstacle was tackling my new bar routine in gymnastics. But now, things aren't so easy and care-free. It'd be much simpler to translate the verse into "be joyful when there's something to be joyful about, pray when things don't go you're way, and give thanks whenever they do." But, we would fail to remember that last, and possibly most important section.."For this is GOD'S WILL for you in Christ Jesus." Not just His idea of what could be best, not His scheme to ruin our lives, not His plan to give us anything we could ever want...His "good, pleasing, and perfect will" (Roman's 12:2). God has a plan greater than any of us could ever imagine, and when we let go and realize it's all up to Him, our worries become so much simpler. We can't always control what's going on around us, but we can (and are told to) choose to be joyful, pray, and give thanks in all of our circumstances.