Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
God placed this verse on my mind recently as I spent time thinking of all the reasons in my life to be thankful. I have the most amazing wife in the world, three fantastic kids, and a living situation that is perfect for this stage of our lives. I’m tremendously blessed by my extended family, my church family, my karate family and my friends that might as well be family. There are lots of things in my life right now for which it is easy to be thankful.
But there have also been events in my life recently when it was not as easy to be thankful. It was hard to be thankful when we lost a baby to miscarriage a few years ago. It was hard to be thankful when selfish wolves brought division into our church and made the church of the living God look petty and worldly. It was hard to be thankful when I lost my dream job. It was hard to be thankful seeing friends I love move away, knowing how much that would change our relationship. It is hard to be thankful when I think of how many people I love that are still actively rejecting the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The verse says, “in everything give thanks”–not “in most things,” not “in favorable things,” not “in things you agree with politically”–but “in everything.” Intellectually, I understand that I am supposed to give thanks in everything, but if I’m being honest, thankfulness is not my first inclination in some situations. Sometimes I feel the pull of the flesh and would rather be bitter, angry or frustrated. Sometimes I find myself questioning God and asking, “How am I supposed to be thankful for this?”
The apostle Paul—the human author of 1 Thessalonians—was uniquely aware of how challenging life on earth could be. A quick glance at the book of Acts or 2 Corinthians will attest to how difficult and heartbreaking life was for Paul after his conversion. Paul knew life was not always easy or favorable, but he also knew that for the believer, life is always worthy of thanksgiving. After telling believers to give thanks in everything, he then goes on to explain how this is possible.
In the above text, believers are first told to give thanks in everything because it is “the will of God.” There is not a single event that happens in your life that is outside of the sovereign providence of God (which we recently studied during our Sunday school hour). The all-knowing, all-powerful, all-wise, gracious, patient, loving God that created the world in six days, sustains every molecule in the universe, and worked out His plan of redemption to save His people, is in control of your life right now and is working things out according to His will. Both the things in your life that make it easy to be thankful, and the things in your life for which you are currently struggling to be thankful, are all a part of God’s sovereign will.
Secondly, we can give thanks in everything because it is the “will of God in Christ Jesus.” The events in our lives for which we give thanks are not primarily about us but are rooted and grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ. In evaluating my own struggles with thankfulness, I find that it is typically selfishness that keeps me from being thankful. For example, I selfishly struggle to be thankful when a friend moves away because of how I think the distance is going to affect me. If I evaluate all the events of my life through the selfish lens of how they affect me, then I will never be able to give thanks in everything, because undoubtedly events will come into my life that do not appear to benefit me. If I can remember that the events of this life—the events of my life—are not primarily about me, but are about the glory of my Lord and Savior, this mindset will help me to be more thankful about even the most challenging events of my life.
The last two words of the verse provide the third reason that the believer can give thanks in everything, and they are staggering in their implications. We are to give thanks in everything because it is the “will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Even though our lives are primarily about our Lord, and even though the events of this life are primarily about Him receiving the glory He deserves, we are told in this passage that the will of God is working things out in this life for you. That means for every individual who is reading this, and for the many more who are not reading this. Try wrapping your mind around how God can take every event of life and transform that event into a beneficial circumstance that will ultimately work itself out for every child of God affected. The wisdom and sovereign will of God is truly amazing!
If you are a child of God redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, you can give thanks in everything because everythingthat happens is according to the perfect will of God, for the glory of our great Lord and Savior, and is also transpiring with you in mind. It is important to note that the call to “pray without ceasing” comes immediately before the call to give thanks in everything. If we are a praying people, then we are a people actively seeking the will of God, and our minds and hearts are better prepared to give thanks in everything.
The people of God should be a thankful people, understanding that our loving God is in control of all the events of this life, and is working out those events for the glory of God and the good of His children. May we be a people that are thankful in all circumstances, trusting our sovereign Lord to work out all things for our good according to His purposes (see Romans 8:28).
By David Gamble Jr
Pastor at Helix Bible Church
The Vortex Apologetic 