Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, the apostle Paul states, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; and in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Th 5:16-18). The words “rejoice”, “pray”, and “give thanks” are all verbs which are in the imperative mood, which is the mood of command. These are directives to be obeyed. Three things are noteworthy about the Greek imperative mood. First, it assumes intellectual capacity, the ability to understand the directive. Second, it assumes volitional capacity, the ability to obey the directive. Third, it assumes present and/or future opportunity, as one cannot command past action. And these directives are executed by faith and not feelings. In fact, I may not feel like doing these things, but as a Christian, I’m told to walk by faith, not feelings. What I find is that when I execute these verses by faith, my feelings eventually come around.