| |
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (for you).” (KJV, NKJV)
“In everything give thanks: for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (NASU, NASB)
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (RSV, NIV)
“No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (TLB)
Have you learned that old chorus yet? If not, check it out at the following website:
http://www.daveweb1a.com/hide/Thanks.m4a
I have learned a LOT of Scripture from choruses I sang in church in my life. Honestly, not to be overly critical, I believe that one of the reasons the church has often lacked power in the past is because we have diluted the songs we sing in praise and worship. Many of them contain no Scripture at all, lots of them are hard to sing and we have once again, relegated that part of our meetings to those who do it much better than we do.
I will “get off of that soapbox” by just saying that if you will devote some time learning Scripturally-based songs and finding the Scriptures in the ones you already sing, you will find it easier to adopt the discipline of Scripture memorization.
I didn’t know this, but there apparently is an internationally recognized symbol for thankfulness or gratefulness. The sign is shown above with one’s hands crossed over your heart toward the persons or things you are thankful for. Amazing what you can learn on Google, huh?
“Thank you!” Thanks for all you do! “Thank you Lord for saving my soul.” It doesn’t seem like such a big thing. But unknown to most of us, the world perceives Americans as the most ungrateful people in the world! That isn’t a very positive image.
Maybe it is because we have been blessed with so much that we gripe the loudest when we don’t have everything we want and need. But, having lived abroad, I have seen demonstrated lots of times how quickly we Americans become very unhappy about circumstances and complain loudly about how those things need to be made better.
I have also spoken to lots of Americans who have lived for a while in a foreign country who always remark about how grateful they are to live in a country that is so abundantly blessed… especially when we return home and get to experience all the things we have to be thankful for that aren’t available outside our borders.
So, whenever we have it good, we should be very thankful! Paul, though, had the gall to suggest that we needed to be thankful in EVERYTHING! Surely not! I’m sure it is easy to be thankful when things are going well. But, let stuff start falling apart, or let me get a disease that can only be cured by aggressive surgery, or let my kids and family abandon me, and it is only reasonable that we might not be the first to shout thanks for those situations.
But Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, not only should we give thanks, but we should give thanks in everything. AND we should give thanks recognizing that it is God’s will for us to do so! You might be saying, “I don’t think so!”
If you are thinking this way, I definitely do not suggest that you read the book of James. He starts his epistle by telling us to “count it all joy when we fall into trials.” I didn’t want my patience and to be perfect anyway.
Paul was writing from a prison cell when he told us he had learned to be content wherever he was and in whatsoever “state” or situation he was. David wrote in Psalm 119 that before he was afflicted he went astray.
As Christians we should be the most thankful people in the world, setting the gold standard for gratefulness. Can we say we are thankful for the price that Jesus paid for our salvation? Yes. Can we say we are blessed beyond anything we deserve and that drives us to say “thank you” for all He has done for us?
As we “count our blessings,” do we say thank you for each of them? When things turn bad for us, can we keep on thanking the Lord, knowing that He will provide everything we need for our survival, our blessings, our happiness, for our escape?
How many times have you seen children who, the minute they don’t have their way or get exactly what they want, they start crying, whining or throwing little temper tantrums because everything isn’t going their way? We can understand a little bit because they are children and they haven’t learned all of life’s lessons, especially about being grateful for all they have instead of focusing on what they don’t have at that moment. But, as adults, striving to grow into the very image of Jesus, we need to grow up sometimes and see all that we have and not so quickly complain about the little that we do not.
Give thanks! Give thanks for all you have. “Give thanks with a grateful heart!” When things go wrong, give thanks, not focusing on momentary loss, but remembering all that you still have! Give thanks because God has given us the spiritual vision to see beyond the temporal, short-term setbacks of life to the great glory that awaits us for all eternity in heaven. In everything, give thanks. Why? Because this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us!
Questions to ponder: When was the last time you actually counted your blessings by writing them down? Do it. Does this change your perspective on your current problems? How much loss can we handle before it becomes impossible to still give thanks? The song encouraged us to “give thanks with a grateful heart.” Is it possible that we don’t give thanks in everything because our hearts are suffering from chronic ungratefulness? What are the symptoms of this illness? The prescription to fix it is giving thanks!
 
|
|
