Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
During this Thanksgiving (“Thanks-Living”) week, we have given thought to our choice to rejoice always, regardless of the circumstances we are facing. On Wednesday we unpacked what is looks like to pray continually. Today, on the day after Thanksgiving, let spend a few moments in the matter of giving thanks in all circumstances.
Verse 18 — Give Thanks In All Circumstances
Daily life confronts us with any number of difficulties, from a cranky child to a financial shortfall at the end of the month to a fender-bender during rush hour. The key to true thanks-living is to see every obstacle as an opportunity to give thanks to our Lord, because, as Paul said, “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20), and one day soon we will be enjoying unbroken, undiminished, and unending fellowship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. And remember, this command to “Give thanks in all circumstances” came from the Spirit of God through a man who had endured tremendous hardship in his service for our Lord. Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, jailed, abandoned, stoned and left for dead, and ultimately executed for his faith in Jesus.
Now, I will readily acknowledge that it is often far easier to grumble than to give thanks. I long ago lost count of how many times I have had to confess that particular sin. Yet when we keep the reality that we are children of God on our way to glory firmly in mind, we can rise above the waves of challenge and give thanks in all circumstances — both the pleasant and the painful.
Remember, if you want shift your focus from the moment to your Maker — lifting your eyes from your circumstances to Christ — pause and look up with thanksgiving for the breath you have in your lungs and the beat of your heart, for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). God is working all things together for our ultimate good — not just some things or even most things, but all things — even those things we don’t like. There will be times when things aren’t going our way; we will encounter some “bad beats” along the way; at those times we must remember these words from the psalmist:
Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1)
We have a good and gracious and kindly God; He cares for us even when we are dealing with bad stuff, because nothing can separate us from the love of God that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). We need no more reason than that to give thanks in all circumstances, do we? We are His, and He is ours (Song of Solomon 6:3). Now, that is a reason for thanks-living!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 