Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ. 1 Thess 5:16-18
Recently while reading through 1 Thessalonians I was struck by something in verses 16-18. Something small and I am sure it's not the first time I've seen it but this time I was really encouraged by what I saw.
I am to be thankful in my present circumstances not for them. I could almost just stop writing after that sentence. I mean seriously, let that sink in for a moment. We are to be thankful in our circumstances not for them.
How many times have we faced an unknown future, suffering, pain, or trials with the wrong view? We think that somehow we are to be thankful for whatever we are facing. In this life we can face some really hard things. For example, how can a mother watch her child die of cancer and be thankful? How can a wife be thankful that her husband is having an affair? How can we be thankful as we live and work in an environment that seems hostile to what we believe? How can anyone be thankful for being abused, beaten, abandoned, marginalized, forgotten or... the list could go on and on.
How do we walk through the hard times and be thankful?
How do we walk through the hard times and be thankful?
Oh dear one, God does not ask us to be thankful for these things. He wants us to have an attitude of thankfulness while we walk in them. When our circumstances threaten to overwhelm us we can still be thankful. We can be thankful as we look to God. We must take our eyes off the circumstance, die to what we thought would happen, and remember who He is and what He has done. We can be thankful for His continued Faithfulness to us.
We can give thanks because we know that God always acts in righteousness. I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. Ps 7:17
We can give thanks because He is our God! You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You. Ps 118:28
We can give thanks as a sacrifice of praise. God wants us to choose an attitude of thankfulness. It’s choosing to live, walk, and believe in TRUTH regardless of emotions or circumstances.
We must be devoted to prayer and in His word. Living a life in thankfulness is beyond the ability of the flesh so we must rely on the Spirit. We must be in His word. Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. Col 4:2
Will you choose to be thankful because of who God is? Will you choose to focus on God and His faithfulness, grace, mercy and love instead of whatever current circumstances you find yourself in?
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