“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”—1 Thess. 5:18
There’s Something Very Plain Here
Here is an admonition that is very plain; God says to believers, “In every thing give thanks.” Notice that the instruction here isn’t to give thanks for every thing. God doesn’t expect us to give thanks for all of the things that come into our live. But He does expect, and He commands, that we give thanks in every thing. In other words, no matter what the situation, we need to be careful not to ever quit giving thanks to God. There is so much to be thankful to God for; we will never be at a loss to find things about Him and His dealings with us for which we can be grateful.
The Apostle Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4). Paul knew what it was to experience trouble and trial and to find himself in difficult situations, but he’d learned to maintain a thankful heart towards God no matter what. He wrote from a prison cell, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phil. 4:11). How could he be thankful and have inner contentment in such situations? He was a man who really believed that “All things work together for good to them that love the God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
There’s Something Very Practical Here
The Bible tells us that our giving thanks to God in every situation is “the will of God in Christ Jesus.” One reason that this attitude of gratitude is God’s will for us is because it will help us to live victoriously, daily as Christians. It may sound odd, but a thankful heart is vital to our resisting the temptations of the devil. He has many “wiles” and “devices” (2 Cor. 2:11; Eph. 6:11) that he uses against believers to try and tempt us to sin, and one of them is to generate resentment and distrust in our hearts towards the Lord when problems come our way.
As long as we are in this world, we’ll find that troubles will come our way as surely as “sparks fly upwards” (Job 5:7). Just as certainly as the sun will shine on the “evil and the good,” and the rain will fall on the just and the unjust” (Matt 5:45) there are temptations that are “common to man” (1 Cor. 10:13a). But this verse goes on to tell us that, “God is faithful, who will not suffer us to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13). We can be thankful for this. And remember that keeping a thankful spirit will prove to be a powerful antidote, a mighty defense, against Satan, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us” (2 Cor. 2:112).
A boy once observed a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon. He thought he would give it some help, and with his penknife, he carefully cut the cocoon open. The butterfly was able to crawl out of its cocoon, but it hadn’t developed the strength to fly, and died soon after it had escaped its “problem” area.”
Sometimes Christian people resent the situations they find themselves in and try to extricate themselves from them when what they may need to do is to just wait on the Lord with a thankful heart and see what He may be doing by allowing them to experience a problem. Sometimes we will try, out of sympathy, but in our flesh, to get a friend out of a difficult place. We need to be very careful. When we find others or ourselves struggling in the storms, struggling with the stuff, of life, we need to remember the lesson of the butterfly.
A butterfly is designed to gain strength through struggle. It’s the struggle that gives the butterfly a stronger hearts and enables it to ascend to new heights. So it is with believers; our trials have their purpose. As we struggle with troubles and trials, while being thankful in the midst of them, we will develop a stronger heart for the Lord and deeper faith. To this end, Paul wrote: “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 4:7), and James wrote that when we fall into different types of temptations, we should “count it all joy … knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience,” and that we must “Let patience have here perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing(James 1:2, 3
Someone once wrote a book entitled, The Bumps are What You Climb On. There are a lot of bumps on the road of life, and as Christians, instead of stumbling over them, we need to get real good at stepping up to new spiritual levels on them and counting our blessings and praising the Lord while we do it. This is “the will of God.”
There’s Something Very Personal Her
Think about this: God’s will in this matter of thanksgiving is His very will for each of us personally; it is “concerning you.” If his eye is on the sparrow, and not one of them can fall to the ground without His notice, you can be sure that He cares for you. He knows everything about you—He knows how many hairs are on your head (Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:7). He knows every thing that is going on inside you and every thing that is going on around you.
God knows you, and He knows what’s best for you. He knows how powerfully impacted your life will be if you will be the kind of person who, no matter what the situation, will still give thanks. Remember, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”—1 Thess. 5:18
There’s Something Very Plain Here
Here is an admonition that is very plain; God says to believers, “In every thing give thanks.” Notice that the instruction here isn’t to give thanks for every thing. God doesn’t expect us to give thanks for all of the things that come into our live. But He does expect, and He commands, that we give thanks in every thing. In other words, no matter what the situation, we need to be careful not to ever quit giving thanks to God. There is so much to be thankful to God for; we will never be at a loss to find things about Him and His dealings with us for which we can be grateful.
The Apostle Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4). Paul knew what it was to experience trouble and trial and to find himself in difficult situations, but he’d learned to maintain a thankful heart towards God no matter what. He wrote from a prison cell, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phil. 4:11). How could he be thankful and have inner contentment in such situations? He was a man who really believed that “All things work together for good to them that love the God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
There’s Something Very Practical Here
The Bible tells us that our giving thanks to God in every situation is “the will of God in Christ Jesus.” One reason that this attitude of gratitude is God’s will for us is because it will help us to live victoriously, daily as Christians. It may sound odd, but a thankful heart is vital to our resisting the temptations of the devil. He has many “wiles” and “devices” (2 Cor. 2:11; Eph. 6:11) that he uses against believers to try and tempt us to sin, and one of them is to generate resentment and distrust in our hearts towards the Lord when problems come our way.
As long as we are in this world, we’ll find that troubles will come our way as surely as “sparks fly upwards” (Job 5:7). Just as certainly as the sun will shine on the “evil and the good,” and the rain will fall on the just and the unjust” (Matt 5:45) there are temptations that are “common to man” (1 Cor. 10:13a). But this verse goes on to tell us that, “God is faithful, who will not suffer us to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13). We can be thankful for this. And remember that keeping a thankful spirit will prove to be a powerful antidote, a mighty defense, against Satan, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us” (2 Cor. 2:112).
A boy once observed a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon. He thought he would give it some help, and with his penknife, he carefully cut the cocoon open. The butterfly was able to crawl out of its cocoon, but it hadn’t developed the strength to fly, and died soon after it had escaped its “problem” area.”
Sometimes Christian people resent the situations they find themselves in and try to extricate themselves from them when what they may need to do is to just wait on the Lord with a thankful heart and see what He may be doing by allowing them to experience a problem. Sometimes we will try, out of sympathy, but in our flesh, to get a friend out of a difficult place. We need to be very careful. When we find others or ourselves struggling in the storms, struggling with the stuff, of life, we need to remember the lesson of the butterfly.
A butterfly is designed to gain strength through struggle. It’s the struggle that gives the butterfly a stronger hearts and enables it to ascend to new heights. So it is with believers; our trials have their purpose. As we struggle with troubles and trials, while being thankful in the midst of them, we will develop a stronger heart for the Lord and deeper faith. To this end, Paul wrote: “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 4:7), and James wrote that when we fall into different types of temptations, we should “count it all joy … knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience,” and that we must “Let patience have here perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing(James 1:2, 3
Someone once wrote a book entitled, The Bumps are What You Climb On. There are a lot of bumps on the road of life, and as Christians, instead of stumbling over them, we need to get real good at stepping up to new spiritual levels on them and counting our blessings and praising the Lord while we do it. This is “the will of God.”
There’s Something Very Personal Her
Think about this: God’s will in this matter of thanksgiving is His very will for each of us personally; it is “concerning you.” If his eye is on the sparrow, and not one of them can fall to the ground without His notice, you can be sure that He cares for you. He knows everything about you—He knows how many hairs are on your head (Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:7). He knows every thing that is going on inside you and every thing that is going on around you.
God knows you, and He knows what’s best for you. He knows how powerfully impacted your life will be if you will be the kind of person who, no matter what the situation, will still give thanks. Remember, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”—1 Thess. 5:18
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