Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In today’s verses, Paul identifies three areas of our lives we must focus on as we wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled to us: 1) unbounded joy; 2) praying continually; and 3) giving thanks to God no matter happens. Last time we began looking at what we can do while we’re waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled. We began by looking at rejoicing.

As we wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled, we need to be faithful to what we know we are supposed to do. Here are 3 ‘basics’. Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life…” The devil is roaming about “seeking whom he may devour”(1 Pet 5:8). Jesus is our safe path (Jn 14:6). Most towns have a Main Street, every Christian has one also. As we stay on it we’re in Jesus’ protective care. But, especially when we get anxious to see God’s promises fulfilled, we look for shortcuts, and we end up needlessly exposed to the enemy’s harassment.

So here’s a few ways to stay on Jesus’ path while we wait:

Don’t look Around (Avoid Distractions)
It’s easy to be lured away into worldly thinking (1 Jn 2:15) and be deceived by the enemy by the “innocent” distractions that are presented to us… To fixate on what is not Jesus; obsessing over something that is beneath Jesus’ high calling for our minds: “So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.” (Phil 4:8)

Many of us know the Proverb that says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is”(23:7). We become what distracts us.

Don’t Look Down (Avoid Fixation on the Need)
Never once does the Bible tell us to look down. We are always told to look up. Some of us are so wrapped up in longing over our unfulfilled promise that we exude dissatisfaction with our current state. Self-pity and then resentment press in and our relationships with other believers (especially those who God has fulfilled His promise to) are disrupted or damaged.

Many believers miss God because of negativity…don’t join them. We need to keep our gaze on Jesus, not our problem. And we know that we’re looking at Him because when we’re looking at Jesus we’re possessed by thankfulness instead of dissatisfaction.

Live in Desperation…for Jesus
Jesus got pretty desperate in His prayer life. At one point He cried out, “My heart is ready to break with grief” (Mk 14:34). The next verse says “He threw Himself on the ground and prayed.” The last prayer Jesus prayed before going to the cross,  He prayed while flat on His face. Often, the fulfillment of God’s promise in our lives come to the desperate. But godly desperation turns to submission as Jesus demonstrated for us in concluding that prayer, “nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

If God gives us a promise, He will fulfill it. But keep in mind He doesn’t always take the shortcut to get us there—or the scenic route. Sometimes God leads us into the wilderness on the way to blessings. When we face trials we need to bow down before the Master. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (Is 66:1-2). He will strengthen us to keep going on until the promise “is ready to be fulfilled.”