1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  ‘Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’

DAILY READING    Luke 9:1-27; Genesis 15; Psalm 8

In Iran, Christians are often incarcerated for their faith. One of the people who once suffered such incarceration was Mojtaba Hosseini, who was the Pastor of a fast growing underground church in Iran. One day, he was arrested by Iranian authorities, and sentenced to three years in the notorious Evin Prison.

In prison, he was put in the same block with murderers, robbers and drug dealers. At  first he was fearful, pleading with God to release him. But one day, God made him to understand he was in prison to fulfill divine purpose. He was there to bring the Gospel to the lost. He then realized that it would have been impossible for Christians to pass the big gates of the prison to bring the gospel to the inmates. But God had placed him and other Christians inside the prison, to shine His light among the prisoners.

And so prompted by the Holy Spirit, he began to share God’s Word with those around him: Surprisingly many of them received Jesus and were born again. Hosseini did not have a Bible with him in prison and prayed for one. God heard his prayer and provided Scriptures through one of the most unlikely sources. Shockingly, the prison imam, who came every day to pray with the Muslim inmates, offered to help! Getting an actual Bible into Evin Prison seemed impossible, but the imam smuggled in printouts of the Bible disguised as English lessons. These were later translated into the local Farsi language. Hosseini copied the Scripture and gave to the prisoners. As he continued to preach, more prisoners gave their lives to Christ. And instead of seeing his stay in prison as punishment, he faced it with joy, knowing that God’s will was being accomplished. After three years in prison, Hosseini was released and today lives in another country, where he continues to serve God.

Apostle Paul was sharing the Gospel, when he was arrested and put in the prison. But Paul wasn’t defeated and depressed by his situation. Paul wrote over half the New Testament from his prison cells.  While the Romans thought they were stopping him, they only ended up helping him to spread the Gospel.

James 1:2-4 tells us to count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations. Why so ? Because we have a victorious destiny in Christ: Through Christ we are destined to have the victory in every trial. We may be challenged, but we are not permitted to be defeated. Christ causes us to triumph in all our ways. This is why we count it all joy because we know when its all said and done we have the victory. Praise is our expression of confidence in God’s ability to deliver us. It doesn’t matter if goliath is roaring now, we know his head is about to come down!. It doesn’t matter how strong the wall of Jericho resisting us may appear, we know it’s about to tumble down! The God we serve is great and mighty, He has never lost a battle.  And He is fearful in praises.

1 Thessalonians 5:18  says ‘ In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’

The verse doesn’t say to give thanks “for” everything, but rather it says give thanks “in” everything. In other words, in every situation, we should remain thankful. In spite of how things may seem, we keep choosing to be grateful, because we know that God is in control. What the enemy meant for evil, God is turning it all around for our good. This is why the very thing the enemy thinks will steal your joy, should be the very reason why you praise God. When we are thankful, it opens the door for God to move on our behalf.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were about to be executed, they were in the mid-night of their lives. But they prayed and sang praises aloud to God in the prison. And right there in the prison, God showed up and brought deliverance to them.

There is no mountain that God’s presence cannot level, no sea that He cannot dry up, no “Jordan” that cannot be driven back. But praise is our access to His presence. Once we engage in praise, we have brought God to bear on the situation. Let us face every day with joy, knowing that God is in perfect control of our lives. In everything let us give Him thanks, because in our praise is our deliverance.

PRAYER:  Lord please help me to always give thanks to You at all times. No matter what I  face You are able to see me through, and perfect all that concerns me. And even right now, I know that You are turning things around for my good in Jesus Name.

QUOTE

The truth of God’s Word in the life of a believer is always reflective, the results can never be hidden. – WORDBITE 222