1 Thessalonians 5:16-18- “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Instead of counting our burdens, we ought to cultivate an attitude of counting our blessings! True faith rejoices in Christ not only in good times but even during difficult times. Consider the wise words of the preacher Vance Havner (1901-1986) who preached on what he referred to as “The Forgotten Beatitude” based on Matthew 11:6- “And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”
Consider an excerpt from his timely sermon:
“It is nothing new to be offended in Jesus. More people have been offended in Him than in any character in history. . . . We have murmured that we pray and do not receive. We gave our tithe and now we are in adversity. We were faithful to the Lord’s house and landed in a hospital. We prayed for our children and they became worldlings. We craved joy and peace but we are despondent. Across the street is an ungodly family that has suffered no loss, while our dearest was taken. “There is no use in praying. It reads very lovely in the devotional books but I seem unable to make it work.” We were in distress, and the Lord “abode where he was” and when He did appear we grumbled. . . . All such grumbling means that we have not learned the Forgotten Beatitude. Anybody can believe during fair weather. There is a deeper experience and a higher state which not many reach, a state in which, no matter what happens, we are never offended in the Lord, a state in which, whether it makes sense to us or not, we still believe Romans 8:28. Habakkuk started his book pouting and ended it praising. And blessed is the man who can say: “Though I don’t get what I want; though I may sow much and reap little; though others get the plums and I get the sack, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.”
Source: Vance Havner, “The Forgotten Beatitude” (articles.ochristian.com/article10714.shtml).
