Be Still and Know - "May You Be Filled With Joy, Always Thanking The Father"

(from www.premierchristianradio.com)

1. Colossians 1:11-12
   
   
   
   
   'We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.'
   Life can often be incredibly tough. Paul often spoke of the challenges which he had faced personally which included rejection, betrayal, shipwrecks, imprisonment, beatings and much else besides. He also knew that the Colossian church was going through a difficult time, and would have to face many challenges in the future. He knew that they needed huge strength to keep going in a godly way. Most people who face attack will fight back, but Paul knew that this was not what God wanted. They needed to know how to endure and be patient when they were under extreme pressure. The word for patience used to be translated as ‘long suffering’ and that is a very good literal translation of the Greek. Being patient is tough enough but to be long suffering is beyond all of us. The only way in which we will keep on being patient is with God’s help. He helps us to be gracious and kind with people who are rude and obstructive. He shows us how to face rejection and unkindness with love and understanding. He enables us to stand up to the foolishness of other people with grace and understanding. None of those responses come naturally to us. But as the Holy Spirit is allowed to take control of our lives, he enables us to endure with patience and to come through long periods of suffering with joy.
   
   
   It's the word joy that is particularly startling. Endurance, long suffering and patience don’t sound joyful at all. They sound like very hard work. But whenever the Holy Spirit is at work, there is joy. You can’t keep his joy out. Even in the face of brutal opposition, which has been the experience of many Christians over the years, there is a bubbling of holy joy.
   I don’t know what challenges you are facing at the moment. But I am quite sure that there are situations where you are needing strength to endure and be patient. All of us face such challenges, so we need to open ourselves afresh to God’s Spirit and invite him to give us strength that is well beyond our own. This enables us to be the gracious, resilient and patient people that he wants us to be. And, if you do that, I promise you will experience God’s joy, amazing as it might sound.
   
   
   
   
   Question: In what situations are you needing the power to endure and be patient at present?
   Prayer: Lord God, I thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. Fill me afresh right now to enable me to face every situation with your strength and grace. Amen