“I Thessalonians 5:16-18. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
When my kids were small, I couldn’t envision the future. It was like a wall that I couldn’t climb; like a fog that I couldn’t see through. I don’t know if I really held hope, unless it could be the hope that for some reason God had a reason for placing me in this circumstance. That he had a reason for placing three kids with special needs in this family. He brought this verse to me. And I decided that even if I could not see the future, I could at least know that I was doing God’s will when I practiced these things. I was already praying continually (God, what am I going to do? I don’t know what to do! – Help me!). I could practice thankfulness. I had a hard time with rejoicing though. I couldn’t do it in myself, so I began listening to music that rejoiced.
This is not to say that there is no lament comingled with thankfulness or rejoicing. There is lament. Many of David’s psalms are laments mixed with praise and rejoicing.