Rejoice and Be Glad!

Another one of my daily dose of sentimental Christian sharings...

Was just reading the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:16 which says "Rejoice at all times" but I just realised that many of us Christians find it quite challenging to find joy in everything.
In fact, it was quite amazing that when I was pondering on the verse, I picked up Selwyn Hughes' book and he happened to have written on the topic of rejoicing. He puts the question: Is it really possible to rejoice at all times? And he says he believes so.

Here's the secret: We can rejoice in everything only to the extent that we see God in everything.
Some might have difficulty with this, and respond: "There are some things which come from the devil, there are some things you never think people could possibly do, and how can what you say be applied to that?"
It is true that God may not be the genesis of something, but He can certainly be in its exodus.

Some of you guys might know this story...
An old lady was praying for bread.
Some boys, hearing her, decided to play a trick on her.
They climbed up on her roof and threw som loaves down the chimney.
"Praise the Lord," shouted the old lady, "God has heard my prayer."
The boys then knocked on her door and said: "But it was not God who gave you the bread - it was us."
She laughingly replied: "Well the devi may have brought it, but it was God who sent it."

The circumstances may have begun with the devil, but by the time they get to you and through you, they have a divine purpose running through them. In other words, wherever an event comes from, by the time it gets to you, you can be sure it has got God's permission - and thus has the potential of becoming not a source of trouble but a source of triumph.
How amazing is that? So I guess it's learning to rejoice in everything when we see God in everything.