God's Will for Us to Be Thankful

There is certainly cause to rejoice in all things, because God is at work in all things. There is always something to be thankful for.

God's Will for Us to Be Thankful

This week's devotions are written by my friend Jessica Hermann, former director of our college ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church.

- Pastor Danny

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I introduced Thanksgiving to my in-laws the first November that I lived in Germany. It has now become a yearly tradition where we all gather around a classic American Thanksgiving meal and share what we are thankful for. My husband has a large family, so just his immediate family is 15 people. So our tradition of going around the table and sharing what we are thankful for takes just about the whole meal! But it is such a sweet time. This past year, I remember someone sharing about financial difficulties. They shared about how things had been tight after a few unforeseen circumstances. However, they expressed how they continued to pray and trust the Lord. And what do you know; the Lord provided. In the right time, the Lord provided for their needs, and in His mercy and kindness, they had more than they needed. This was an encouraging testimony to hear of the Lord's provision. But what stood out to me the most was when they declared their thankfulness to the Lord for these difficult times because it allowed them to grow in their faith and trust God more. Wow! What a heart for the Lord. To be thankful for difficult things that draw you to Jesus is an act of worship to Him indeed. Only with Jesus can we have the eyes to see God's purpose in all things, leading us to actually be thankful in all things.

The Lord has revealed many things in His Word for us to know and follow the will of God for our lives. Today, let's zoom in on the last verse of the passage that we have been studying over the past few days. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Here we see superlatives again. Give thanks in all circumstances. As I learned from my in-laws, there is certainly cause to rejoice in all things, because God is at work in all things. There is always something to be thankful for. This goes hand-in-hand with what we explored on Tuesday, that we should "rejoice always". We can rejoice through all things and give thanks in all circumstances because our Lord is enough. There is no situation so grave that there is no possibility to find something to be grateful for. No matter the depths of darkness and brokenness that we may find ourselves in, the grace of God is deeper still.

The commands of the Lord are not there for God to have a power trip. They are not there to meaninglessly control us. They are actually there for our benefit, because God knows exactly what we need and what is best for us. What, then, is a benefit of being thankful in all circumstances? There are many, but the first one that comes to mind is that thankfulness is a powerful weapon against discouragement. When we get discouraged, it is often because we focus far too much on self. We set our gaze upon earthly things which are unable to satisfy us or bring us the necessary hope and purpose that we need. It doesn't take much time watching the news to be tempted to despair. This can be discouraging. Thankfulness helps us to shift our focus towards the Lord. This directs our gaze away from the brokenness of this world and toward the glory of God in whom all hope and reasons to be thankful are found.

Make a list today of a few things that you are thankful for. I would encourage you to even make it a spiritual discipline to add something to your "thankful list" every single day. As you give thanks in all circumstances, may the Lord fortify your heart against discouragement and despair as you set your hope in Christ.