The Scriptures tell us: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). This three-fold statement of some of the things that are the will of God for our lives, on the surface, seem an almost impossibility to keep. However, the more we grow closer to Jesus the more we begin to see that not only can we obey rejoicing, praying, and being thankful at all times and in all things, but this state of being should actually be the norm for the Christian.
Let’s look at each of these three commands of God:
Rejoice always
(Hebrews 12:2) says: “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Imagine being placed on a wooden cross and knowing that your death is imminent. Yet, I believe, that Jesus looked down the corridor of time and knew that by dying on the cross He would bring salvation to millions. This understanding gave Him so much joy that it gave Him the motivation to go to Calvary and experience immense joy. It is a spiritual law that when we obey God, no matter what the situation, we can experience the joy of the Lord. I like what Dwight L. Moody shared: “The Lord gives his people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to him.”1 As we obey Jesus and walk in His will for our lives joy is sure to follow. D. A. Carson gives us something to ponder when he remarked: “Those who know where the treasure lies joyfully abandon everything else to secure it.”2 And just what is this treasure – it’s Jesus!
Pray without ceasing
As a new Christian I had a hard time understanding how I could pray without ceasing when I was at work and needed to concentrate on my job. However, as I grew in my faith I began to realize that this command was more of being in a state of continual dependence upon and communion with the Father. I like what the website GotQuestions.org says about unceasing prayer: “Paul is not referring to non-stop talking, but rather an attitude of God-consciousness and God-surrender that we carry with us all the time. Every waking moment is to be lived in an awareness that God is with us and that He is actively involved and engaged in our thoughts and actions.”3 E. M. Bounds give us something else to ponder that I believe will help us get into a continuous state of prayer: “Prayer honors God, acknowledges His being, exalts His power, adores His providence, secures His aid.”4
In everything give thanks
When we learn and experience the reality that God has our back all the time, it should become our natural response to give Him thanks in all situations. William Law provides great insight here: “To be always in a thankful state of heart before God is not to be considered a high plane of spirituality but rather the normal attitude of one who believes that ‘all things work together for good to them that love God, who are called according to his purpose.’”5 Not only that but developing a thankful heart will probably add years to your life, peace in your heart, and glorify God in the process – and what could be better than that!
So you see this three-fold command from the Lord is not only possible to obey but is the pathway to a joyous, peaceful, and abundant life!
1 97 Quotes About Joy | ChristianQuotes.info
2 97 Quotes About Joy | ChristianQuotes.info
3 What does it mean to pray without ceasing? | GotQuestions.org
Thank you for sharing this threefold Biblical treasure brother Curt; I had never seen this before. How blessed we are in Him! God guide and bless you today brother 🙏
The Three-Fold Will of God (That Won’t Ruin Your Life)…M.R.Neveu
Some people treat “the will of God” like it’s hidden in a cereal-box decoder ring. Scripture is less dramatic and more annoying: rejoice, pray, give thanks. Not once. Not when you “feel led.” Always. And yes, it sounds impossible until you realize it’s not a performance plan, it’s a posture.
Curt frames 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 as a three-fold snapshot of God’s will: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything. It feels unrealistic at first glance. So carefully, he argues it becomes “normal” as we grow nearer to Christ, because obedience doesn’t just cost, it also carries joy, communion, and peace.
Ok Ethyl, we’re fighter pilots for Scripture, so by the numbers we fly.
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1: Rejoicing isn’t denial. It’s allegiance.
“Rejoice always” is not God demanding you have performance theology as a motivational poster. Curt anchors rejoicing in Jesus Himself, who endured the Cross with joy set before Him, meaning joy is not the absence of pain, it’s the presence of purpose.
Now let’s weld that (not with chewing gum) to what we need as fighter pilots for truth. Hope isn’t optimism. Hope is a disciplined confidence rooted in God’s action in history, especially resurrection reality. When that’s true, rejoicing becomes a form of defiance, not denial.
Rejoicing, then, is not “I’m fine.” It’s “Christ is worth more than what’s crushing me today.” Curt even quotes the idea that people abandon lesser treasures when they see the real one. That isn’t sentimental. That’s triage.
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2: “Pray without ceasing” means: stay connected, stay dependent.
Curt admits the obvious problem: I have a job, a brain, and responsibilities. So “unceasing prayer” can’t mean nonstop talking. It means living in continual dependence and communion, an ongoing God-awareness threaded through real life.
I’ll blurt it the blunt way: borrowed time isn’t a loophole, it’s stewardship. If my days are “borrowed,” then the rational response is not self-sovereignty, it’s ongoing dependence. Prayer becomes the posture of someone who knows they are not the final authority over their own storyline.
And because we love turning spiritual things into fog, here’s the practical translation: courage and hope show up on a calendar. Prayer without ceasing is what keeps my “outside moxey moves” from becoming mere hustle. It turns action into faithfulness, not theatrics.
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3: Thanksgiving is spiritual warfare against cynicism.
“In everything give thanks” is the command modern people hate most, because it implies reality isn’t random and God isn’t absent.
Curt’s point is simple: when I’ve learned God “has my back,” gratitude becomes a natural response, not a forced smile.
Here’s the needed edge to get through the fog when banking into the wind, especially the kind with a hellion scent: the universe is not morally neutral.
There’s a moral grain to reality. Evil doesn’t get the last word, and the resurrection is God’s public statement of that fact. So gratitude isn’t pretending the dark isn’t dark. It’s refusing to hand the dark my worship. Darn straight.
And if you want the apologetics angle that bites, watch this. People who try to starve love and hope are selling domination. A thankful heart is hard to manipulate, because gratitude is the soil where courage and clarity grow.
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God’s will here is not a scavenger hunt. It’s a three-part spiritual orientation: joy anchored in Christ, prayer as ongoing dependence, gratitude as faithful realism.
Curt calls it “possible” and even “pathway” language. I’d almost think God actually wants us alive and steady, not just busy and religious.
God’s will isn’t hidden in the fog. It’s this: rejoice like Christ is treasure, pray like you’re not in charge, and give thanks like darkness doesn’t own the ending.
Thanks, Mr. Blattman, for alot.