"I Don't Want To"

"I don't want to"—unfortunately this phrase encompasses my Christian walk right now.
Lord, I don't want to rejoice in this situation, I don't want to be obedient to your commands, I don't want to put others before myself, and most of all I don't want to have to show love to people.  Don’t you know I am hurting and tired (listen to the pride and selfishness in my feelings)?  All of these feelings or thoughts pretty much equal an adult sized tantrum, and I fear I have been having a few to many of them lately.  But God in His ultimate wisdom leads me to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
 
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5: 16-18)”

With this one verse I am reminded of the simple yet tough commands of Christ.  I am reminded of why Christ has challenged me to get my head out of the intense flowerbed debates (TULIPS VS ROSES etc) and back to Christian basics. To realize that until I have the basics down, the "deeper" theological truths just aren't as imperative.

So I decided to break this verse down with God.  It went something like this: God do you really mean I need to rejoice in everything, even when life is hard...YES everything, especially when life is hard, how else are you to be set apart from the world. God do you really want me to get serious about my prayer life (I mean praying without ceasing is pretty serious)...YES, I your God have already defeated this world but you are powerless without prayer.   God, isn’t rejoicing sometimes enough? I mean that’s a pretty tall order to fill…Nope, I want you to be thankful so that your heart will continue to rejoice. And that is when it hit me, God’s commands are not a laundry list of behaviorally conditions so that He will show me favor. They are loving instructions to keep me on the narrow path.  What it all boils down to is that God is a loving God.  He wants me to follow His ways because even though they are hard and uncomfortable they are better. They are for my good and for His Glory.  These three simply put commands: to rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks are ultimately God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.