16 Rejoice always. 17 Pray continually. 18 Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Don’t suppress the Spirit. 20 Don’t brush off Spirit-inspired messages, 21 but examine everything carefully and hang on to what is good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil. 23 Now, may the God of peace himself cause you to be completely dedicated to him; and may your spirit, soul, and body be kept intact and blameless at our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming. 24 The one who is calling you is faithful and will do this.
Reflection
Avoiding every kind of evil seems like a really big task! We wake up with our phones and there are headlines on our screens. We hear people in the grocery store or in church speaking of things that we need to pray for – evil things that have happened to someone that is close or in a country on the other side of the world. We can’t avoid it, but our scripture tells us to examine everything that is coming to us from every direction and hold on to what is good. We should reject evil in whatever form it comes – from people saying negative things about a certain group to violence in any form.
These verses ask us to be Spirit – led. We should be watching and listening for what the Spirit would have us to do. We should be trusting that “the one who is calling you is faithful” (v 24). This means God will work with us to see what we need to see if we are present in the world.
You often hear that we should be “in the world but not of the world” which of course means we are here living in this world, but we are not to partake of “the world’s values.” We are not to chase what “the world” thinks is important – status, money, etc. However, we need to be present in the world so that we can examine what is happening and help in whatever way we can. It may be by praying for situations. Verse 17 tells us to pray continually. It may be by helping someone who is in a dangerous situation.
When I was in the Holy Land 10 years ago, we had a tour director who lived in the West Bank, in a town called Beit Sahour – the Shepherds’ Field. He continues to live there, but of course there is no tourism. His community is surviving on donations and the selling of olive wood art pieces, jewelry, soap, and spices that are made locally but can be shipped across the world. Supporting his family is a small way to help during the crisis in that area.
Avoiding evil doesn’t mean we are not aware of it – evil is all around us – even in our own heads sometimes as we think about all of the terrible things happening around us, but our scripture tells us to be thankful, to pray, to be present and mindful about what is happening around us – not just in the physical world around us, but also in the spiritual world as the Sprit guides us.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
What has the Spirit been telling you?
Has anyone ever told you that they think the Spirit is telling them something about you? Have you ever had that sense about someone else – that they need a call or a word of encouragement or some physical assistance to do something?
It’s weird (it’s God) when I think I should text or call someone that I haven’t been in touch with and they say, “oh, I was just thinking about you” or” I really needed to hear what you said to me today.” It’s really a powerful experience when that happens, and I hope you get to experience it.
Prayer: God, Jesus, and the Spirit, guide us along our path so that we may be present in this world – watching for your guidance to help others. May we hold on to the good and reject the evil as you help us to better tell the difference. Thank you for your faithfulness. Amen.
