Rejoice Always? (What I learned about life from a Green Bay Packers fan...)

Hanging in the sanctuary of our church is a decorative quilt that was made by one of the ladies in the congregation.  It is a beautiful quilt that has verses from Scripture stitched all over it in large, easy to read print.

As I was spending some quiet time in the sanctuary earlier this week, I noticed one particular set of verses on the quilt – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, which say:

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.”

I confess that, when I noticed those verses on Tuesday morning, it was not with a sense of joy.  In fact, I was greatly frustrated by them.  You see, there’s another member of our church that was recently diagnosed with cancer.  Other church members are going through intense financial struggles.  Every Sunday another church member informs us all of the  number of soldiers who have been killed in service of their country.  

And so it goes – on and on, more and more struggles.

As I sat there Tuesday morning, staring at that verse, the question slid unbidden into my mind:

“How on earth can I rejoice in the face of all this bad news?”

Don’t get me wrong, I recognize the wisdom of Paul’s words here.  They sound good, and I would love to practice them on a day to day basis.  But I just don’t know how to do it – and that frustrated me on Tuesday morning, and it continued to frustrate me throughout the day.

Fast forward to right around lunch time.  I stopped by a local business, where several of our church members work.  While there, I ended up having a conversation with a guy in the church who happens to be a Green Bay Packers fan.  Moreover, this guy and his wife were in Lambeau last Sunday for the Packers’ playoff loss.

As you might expect, our conversation turned to that Packers’ loss.  I asked him if he had gotten over it yet.  His response, though he couldn’t have known it at the time, would go a long way toward transforming my worldview.

He said something like this: “It was disappointing, but I would rather have watched the Packers lose while sitting in Lambeau than sitting at home on my couch.”

The power of those words didn’t hit me until later in the day.  Talk about perspective!  Talk about taking a bad circumstance and finding a way to rejoice and give thanks!

You see, I’m a Saints fan.  I was crushed by the Saints loss.  And though it shames me to admit this, if I had been in San Francisco to watch the game, I don’t think my reaction would have been so healthy.  Yet this Packers fan member of my church found reason to rejoice even as his favorite team suffered a defeat to end their season.

Now I’m not foolish or naive enough to equate a football game with cancer or financial struggles or the sacrifice of soldiers – but I can’t help but wonder if there is not a lesson for all of us in the words of that church member.

When Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances…”, he is not saying that we have to deny that the circumstances are bad or pretend that everything is okay.  However, like my friend the Packers fan, we can find ways to acknowledge our pain and struggle and disappointment and still rejoice and pray and give thanks.

Incidentally, that’s what the last part of verse 18 is all about.  God’s will in Christ for each and every one of us is not that we would be crushed and overwhelmed by the circumstances of our lives, but that by rejoicing, praying and giving thanks, we would overcome them.

That’s what I learned about life from a Green Bay Packers fan.