I Thess. 5:18 “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Easier said than done isn’t it? It’s tough trying to be thankful in light of all that is going on today. The more I watch on TV, read on line, and talk to people in our community, the mood is not a positive one. People are genuinely and consistently unhappy. In fact, people are more than just unhappy, they are complaining. People complain about the government, the economy, their jobs, (or lack there of), their neighbors, their co-workers, their commute, their life, their circumstances, and sometimes…even their church!
Yet, here is God telling us that it is His will for our lives to be thankful IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. Please do not miss the simplicity of this truth. If it is God’s will for us to be thankful in all circumstances and we choose not to be thankful, we are out of God’s will. Being out of God’s will means that we are walking in a disobedient manner. This means that whining and complaining are choices that withhold the blessing of God from our lives. To put it simply, God will not bless a person with a bad attitude.
Please understand that God is not asking us to be thankful FOR all circumstances but rather IN all circumstances. The difference is rather simple. How can God ask us to be thankful for painful and horrible situations? He’s not! He is asking us to be thankful IN them because HE is IN them. It is when we lose sight of God in the circumstances we lose our grateful attitude. The reason I can choose thankfulness is because Jesus walks with me through all my circumstances. I know that it is He who will never leave me, His strength will empower me, and He will use whatever happens to me as something good in my life. I can be thankful because circumstances are not the driving force in my life but Jesus is.
In light of all that people are complaining about, now is a tremendous time for the followers of Christ to stand out as lights in a dark time. Now is a time to be witnesses not just through our actions, but with our attitudes. Now is the time to demonstrate something very few people are doing…choosing to be thankful. Whining and complaining is simply a bad witness and is a faithless response to adversity. It is in our choice to be thankful that truly honors God with our lives.
Ps. 50:23 But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”
Yes, sometimes being thankful will seem like a sacrifice. Sometimes we have to make a choice and not wait for our feelings. Yet, this is the response that honors the One we say we follow. It is the response that God promises to bless. It’s the only response that unleashes supernatural power into our lives and circumstances. It is a faith response that Satan fears and causes heaven to cheer!
Will you make thankfulness your choice? Not because it’s Thanksgiving, but because as a follower of Jesus, you truly have much to be thankful for.
Choosing to be thankful with you all,
Pastor Dale
