In Everything
In Everything
Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:18)
Feel Thankful?
It’s such a simple verse, but it’s like a powerful vitamin pill. We know it will benefit us, but it’s hard to swallow at times. Give thanks in everything? What about when the car breaks down and your child leaves for college and the promotion goes to someone else?
First of all, thanks is something we give. We don’t just feel thankful—we express it to someone else. A mature Christian mixes all his thoughts with thanks, and all our worldly possessions look better when we realize they are gifts. A sense of entitlement never takes us far down the road of gratitude.
Give Thanks Away
“In everything” doesn’t mean everything that happens to us is good or that we should be thankful for everything that comes along in life. (We can’t be thankful for our sin, for instance.) But we can be thankful that God is good, in all things, in all ways, at all times. In this way thankfulness and faith go hand in hand.
And this is a part of God’s will for our lives. If we’re not obeying this simple instruction, giving thanks to God in all things, why would we think God would show us deeper aspects of His will? The phrase “in Christ” is the foundation for our thanksgiving, not our circumstances. Every other gift comes and goes. But Jesus stays. Now that’s something to be thankful for!
Bottom Line
Take your vitamin daily. Tell God what you’re thankful for.