What does giving Thanks in all things mean to you?
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
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Can I be honest? Every year, we should be thankful daily, not just on one special day. We read things like this.
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
And also here in the Psalms
“Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever! “ Psalm 106:1
We should know and understand this.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17
Yes, I get it. I’m sure some of you get it. But have you really gotten it? I’m not talking about making a list, which I have done, of things I’m thankful for.
My life to life everlasting.
My family. Wife and children.
The ability to serve in the kingdom.
My Freedom.
My home.
I really am thankful for all these things. But have I actually been? Here is what I mean. This may be difficult to understand because it is difficult for me to explain. I’m talking about being overtaken by thankfulness. I’m talking about thankfulness so profound it moves beyond a simple acknowledgment and becomes an all-consuming force. One that literally brought me to my knees. Is it just a reaction to good things, or is it a deeper, more spiritual feeling? I found it to be a deeper, more spiritual feeling.
Turn to Hebrews 12, starting at verse 27
“This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken–that is, things that have been made–so that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:27-29
Does that seem like just saying thank you? I got a new job. Thank God. I got a new car. Thank God. Yes, of course, you should say thanks to God when something good comes your way. This is true because we do know that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” However, we should feel “in awe” with just the fact that we are His child.
Someone asked, “How can I receive that ‘Indescribable Peace’ that the Bible talks about?” Think about, meditate on, and fully understand who you are. Instead, focus on who your Father is. Turn to Colossians 3, starting at verse 12.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,”
Stop. Who is that describing? You. Me. God’s adopted children. As such, we need to put on, or have,
“compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
No holding grudges. I understand that it is a hard one. Hard for me as well.
“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
Stop. Why should we do this? For no other reason than this. We exist. God created us. Then, on top of that, even though we were evil, doing evil things, He came and died for us, giving us access to life everlasting with Him.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
I propose that this refers to a genuine and all-encompassing force.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3
There is nothing to compare to our very lives. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36. There is nothing that can compare to our next step following our time on earth. “ But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’-- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Yes. Of course. Of course, you should be thankful for all the things you receive in this life. Yes. Of course, you should be thankful for your spouse, children, home, job, stuff, and the like. However, in the long run, whose stuff will all that stuff be? Rather, in the end, whose will you be?
If you are a child of God, then you know you are His.
“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15
Can I encourage you to explore what truly makes you thankful? Is it just a reaction to good things, or is it a deeper, more spiritual feeling? Is it a simple acknowledgment or has it become an all-consuming force? When we’re overwhelmed by it, we begin to see not only the blessings but also the challenges and hardships as part of a bigger, divinely guided story. It’s about recognizing grace in all situations.
Peter
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Your question is poignant, and timely. It is good to reflect on this question periodically.
You may notice that in the passage you reference, the giving of thanks is one of three co-admonitions: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. These three, taken together, are said to be “the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
I think a spiritual reading of this passage does not primarily receive it as a perfunctory obligation to produce these three things, but rather it is an insight into what God is doing in us. The common thread that weaves these three encouragements into a tapestry of testimony is that all three actions recognize a common benefactor; i.e. we rejoice because someone is doing something good to us, we pray to someone who is good, and we are thankful to someone who has done good. Any benefit has a benefactor and every benefactor has a beneficiary. It is the beneficiary who looks to the benefactor as the object of their rejoicing, praying, and thanksgiving. If the benefactor is supreme, then the rejoicing, praying, and thanksgiving are in “all things”. Because God is supreme, our rejoicing, praying, and thanksgiving are all in Him, and our dependency on Him is His will for us in Christ Jesus.
Our complete dependency is an eternal reality; mankind is completely dependent on God for existence. The realization and acceptance of this dependency relationship evokes joy, prayer, and gratefulness in our hearts. It is bound into the fabric of our creation. If we fail to realize this dependency, or reject it outright, the opposite is evoked in our hearts, we feel entitled. Entitlement is the enemy of gratefulness, it nullifies prayer, and it eliminates rejoicing. Entitlement and gratefulness cannot coexist in the same heart. Entitlement was the lure of the first lie, when the serpent deceived Eve into thinking she deserved what God was withholding from her, and entitlement has been at the core of human rebellion ever since. While gratefulness focuses on the worth and goodness of the benefactor, entitlement focuses on the worth of self. An entitlement mentality encourages religious people to relate to God as if He is a genie, conscribed to grant wishes on demand. A heart of gratefulness relates to God in the reality of dependence, and recognizes God as good and loving, and bestowing grace on unworthy beneficiaries. This relationship is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Giving thanks in all things comes from heart of dependency, recognizing our unworthiness, rejoicing in His goodness, praying His will, and offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving to He who deserves it.
Therefore, by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)
Good prompt. Thanks!
KP
When Paul says in ~1 Thessalonians 5 verse 18 Berean Bible give thanks in all circumstances he drops that command right in the middle of a chain of present imperatives in verses 16 through 22, each one carrying a durative force that describes an ongoing posture rather than a momentary impulse, the verb εὐχαριστεῖτε eucharisteite is present active imperative second plural and stands beside χαίρετε chairete rejoice and προσεύχεσθε proseuchesthe pray and μὴ σβέννυτε mē sbennyte do not quench and πάντα δοκιμάζετε panta dokimazete test all things, the entire cluster shares the same form so the grammar teaches a lifestyle shape, believers rejoice continually, pray continually, test continually, and likewise give thanks continually, the syntax forms a rhythm of unbroken spiritual attentiveness.
The Hebrew backdrop carries the same feel, in ~Psalm 136 verse 1 Berean Bible give thanks to the Lord for he is good the phrase הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה hŏdu laYahweh uses the Qal imperative plural of יָדָה yadah with that ancient sense of extending the hands in grateful confession, the root also carries the idea of publicly acknowledging the covenant loyalty of God, so Hebrew thanksgiving is not private sentiment but verbal covenant allegiance, this frames the New Testament expectation that thanksgiving is communal, vocal, and directed toward the character of God rather than the comfort of the moment.
When you move into ~Ephesians 5 verses 18 through 20 Berean Bible you see the same structure but with participles that describe the effects of being filled with the Spirit, the main verb is πληροῦσθε plērousthe present passive imperative be filled, once again the present imperative carries ongoing force, then Paul stacks participles that flow out of Spirit fullness, λαλοῦντες lalountes speaking, ᾄδοντες adontes singing, ψάλλοντες psallontes making melody, and εὐχαριστοῦντες eucharistountes giving thanks, all present active participles, all describing the continuous outflow of Spirit saturated life, in other words thanksgiving in Paul is not an isolated discipline but one of the continuous manifestations of a believer already filled with the Spirit.
The phrase ὑπὲρ πάντων hyper pantōn for everything in Ephesians shows the scope, not a selective gratitude for pleasant moments but a theological gratitude that recognizes divine sovereignty and Christ’s lordship over all things, and the dative phrase τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ tō theō kai patri to God and Father locates thanksgiving in a direct relationship with the Father through the name of Jesus, so the grammar grounds gratitude in Trinitarian worship, not in general positivity.
Even the context of ~Philippians 4 verses 4 through 7 Berean Bible reinforces this, Paul commands χαίρετε chairete rejoice always, present imperative again, then says let your requests be made known with thanksgiving, μετὰ εὐχαριστίας meta eucharistias, a genitive of manner that colors prayer with gratitude, and the peace of God will guard your hearts, here the verb φρουρήσει phrourēsei is a future indicative active third person singular of φρουρέω and paints the image of a military sentinel standing watch over the believer, so thanksgiving in prayer is not a forced smile but an act of trust that releases the guarding peace of God in the believer’s inner life.
Pull all this together and you get this, thanksgiving in all things is the will of God for the believer as an ongoing posture shaped by continuous verbs, rooted in the Hebrew covenant practice of vocal gratitude, driven by the Spirit’s ongoing filling, addressed to the Father in the name of the Son, and protected by the peace that stands guard over the believer, the Greek and Hebrew forms insist that thanksgiving is a steady act of faith, not a fleeting emotion, a confession that Jesus Christ reigns over all things and therefore no circumstance is outside the arena where gratitude can rise and witness to his lordship.
J.
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Thankfulness comes from Humility.
Humility comes from truth.
Knowing truth comes from God.
Knowing God comes from hearing his word.
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