I remember oh so well going to the store with my children when they were preschoolers. When the shopping was done, we would proceed to the car. Sometimes I would be pushing a cart, or I would have my arms full of groceries. I would tell my boys, one on each side, to hold on to my clothing until they were safely in the car. If at any time I didn’t feel the tug on my clothing I would quickly shift the groceries or turn loose of the cart and reach down for the child’s hand. This change was to make sure my child was safe. It usually was met with more instruction or disciplinary action to prevent it from happening again. My goal was to ensure my children were safe from oncoming cars or someone grabbing them. As long as I could feel their tug, I knew they were with me.
Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is much the same way. So much of life is like crossing a busy street. There are many obstacles to detour us from reaching our goal. Sometimes we get so focused on the things of life that we turn loose of the Father’s hand. We feel confident we can make it, and we proceed on our own. This is not done intentionally, but just like my son turning loose of my clothing, we get distracted and our hand slips away from the anchor.
God gives us many instructions on how to hold on to Him, and how to stay safe in our relationship with Him. I Thessalonians 5:16 -23 gives us a series of short instructions to maintain our relationship with Him.
His first command is to rejoice evermore. We should make a conscious effort daily to rejoice in our salvation. We have been given the greatest gift available to mankind. The Creator of the Universe has made us His child. At salvation, we are brought into His family. No longer are we enemies of God, but we are a child of the King. With God as our Father, we are afforded eternal life with Him and have access to all that He has forever. The very thought of living forever with God should cause us to rejoice no matter how bad things get.
I Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice evermore.”
Next, we are told to stay in a prayerful state of mind. Talking to Him throughout the day allows His peace and love to be at the center of who we are. In Isaiah 26:3, we are promised perfect inward peace when our minds say on Him.
I Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
We are to give thanks for everything. This includes those things that to us seem bad, things we just don’t understand.
I Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
We are to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, and we are to follow his promptings throughout the day. We are not to quench the Spirit. We are to value the preaching of His word above other things, such as miracles or signs that others say they have from God. Nothing should be exalted higher than the word of God preached by the man that God has chosen for the task. Our feelings or other’s exhibitions of gifts do not supersede what God has written. We are to prove all things against the Word to know if they are right.
I Thessalonians 5:19-21 “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings, Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
We are to also abstain from anything that would not be honoring to Christ. Don’t go anywhere or do anything that might give anyone the wrong impression about your allegiance to God. Our lives should be a living testimony of who God is.
I Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
When we live our lives according to these verses, God will preserve us until we see Him one day face to face.
I Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
For those who would rather walk on the edge of safety, turning loose to go on their own, God will discipline them, or as the Bible states it, He will chastise them. In Hebrews chapter 12, we are given the reason for this reaction to our actions. Once we are saved, we become a son or daughter of God. As His child, we will be disciplined for wrong behavior. It is for our good. It should cause us to think about our actions and run back to the Father with a repentant attitude. We know there is safety when holding on to the Father.
Hebrews 12:5-7 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chastened, and scourged every son whom he received. If ye endure chastening, God dealt with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastened not?
The author of Hebrews also warns us that if we are not living according to God’s direction, and we do not feel His discipline in our lives, we are not His. We are illegitimate children. We can’t live a sinful life and not be disciplined. The discipline we receive is for our good. When my children would turn loose of me, I disciplined them, not because I wanted to, but because I loved them and was trying to prevent them from further consequences. They were my children and I wanted to protect them. God does the same with us.
Hebrews 12:8 “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”
If you are saved, you can hold on tightly to the commands of these short verses. If you are not following God as an obedient child, and you don’t feel the discipline of the Father, now is the time to grab hold of His hand with a repentant heart. Place your faith and trust in the only Father who can grant you eternal life, and don’t let go.
