By Al Johnson
“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
Christians should be the most thankful people on earth, not because we are better than anyone else, but because we recognize the mercy and grace of Jesus and have become recipients of it. We have tasted mercy. We have received grace. We were dead in our sin, and God made us alive with Christ. When you understand what you have been saved from and what you have been saved into, gratitude becomes the natural overflow of a new heart.
This is why the Apostle Paul exhorts Christians to give thanks in all circumstances. No matter what we are going through, there is always cause to rejoice and moments to pause and be thankful. Thankfulness and praise are antidotes to bitterness, resentment, disillusionment, and prolonged discouragement.
“Give thanks in all circumstances.”
To give thanks in all circumstances does not mean we pretend that suffering is pleasant or that pain is not real. It means that even in the darkest seasons, there remains a deeper reality:
God is present, God is working, and God is worthy of praise.
- Choosing thankfulness is not some sentimental positivity. It is a declaration to our soul about what is true.
- Choosing thankfulness is spiritual resistance against the schemes of our enemy. It is one of the primary ways we guard our hearts.
May we see gratitude acts as an antidote to:
Bitterness
When we pour out our hearts with gratitude to God we choke out bitterness before it grows roots. Our minds are fixed on what is praiseworthy and our hearts follow suit.
— Philippians 4:6–8, Ephesians 4:31
Resentment
When you focus on who God is, what he has done, and has given, instead of what others have withheld, or done resentment begins to lose its power.
— Psalm 103:1–5
Disillusionment
Thanksgiving puts truth back in front of our eyes. It keeps life aligned with what is ultimately true, namely God is good and there is no unrighteousness in him.
— Psalm 92:1–15, James 1:16–17
Discouragement
Gratitude lifts your eyes off your circumstances and centers them on God’s faithfulness. It does not remove hardship, but it brings strength in the middle of it.
— Psalm 42:5, Lamentations 3:21–24
“this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”
Paul is not heaving up empty phrases or giving us an optional suggestion. He is revealing a way of life God intends for his people. So, may our gratitude be an expression of our faith in real time. When we live like this, the world takes notice. Thankfulness becomes a witness and a testimony of what Christ has done in us.
Thanksgiving is not always easy, but it is always available.
Regardless of what you are facing today, there is something right now that you can thank God for. Whether it be the breath in your lung or the salvation of your soul, the cross of Christ, the hope of eternity, the people God has placed in your life, or the small mercies that meet you every morning.
So today, pause and give thanks in all circumstances.
God is worthy of it. And your soul needs it.