Immediately after reading the title, how to be thankful for everything, most will move on to something else. This idea does not fit our thinking. We cannot see how, nor do we want to be thankful for things that seem to be bad or uncomfortable. In a weird way, we tend to enjoy grumbling and complaining about things we do not like. Yet, several times in the Bible we are instructed to be thankful for everything.
In Ephesians 5:20 Paul teaches us to give thanks always to God for all things. This seems like an impossible task when you think of all the tragedies that come our way. How can we thank God for bad things that happen? First, take a look at Paul, the one who recorded these words from God. As he wrote the book of Philippians he was sitting in a Roman prison. Yet, this book is full of joy and encouragement to the believers in Philippi. In Philippians 1:3 he thanks God for his fellow believers. In I:12 he encourages them by reminding them that his imprisonment was for the furtherance of the gospel. In I Thessalonians 5:18 Paul states that it is God’s desire that we give thanks for everything.
Ephesians 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”
Philippians 1:12 “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.”
I Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
How are we able to give thanks for everything, especially in a world where evil and bad things happen? We must keep our focus on God. We will not understand how bad things can bring good, but God is sovereign, and He can take bad and bring good from it. In Genesis 50:20 we see Joseph telling his brothers who had sold him into slavery, and counted him as dead, that while they intended their evil deeds to serve their selfish jealous hearts, God allowed it to happen because He had a plan to save His people. God used it for good. While God never causes evil to be done and He is never involved in sin, He can bring good from our circumstances.
Genesis 50:20 “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
We must also remember that God will work things out for what is best for us. In Romans 8:28-29 Paul writes, Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” This verse teaches us that God will take our situations and work them out for our good. However, what we consider good may not be what is best for us. The next verse teaches us what the “good” is that he is talking about. It is to make us more like Jesus. Jesus suffered, the evil of the world was against Him, friends betrayed Him and He had dear friends that cared for Him and felt the love of many. We too should expect the good and the bad to come our way and if it makes us more like Jesus, we should be extremely grateful.
Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
We can be thankful that we don’t have to worry about our future. No matter what happens God is still in control. Philippians 4:6 teaches us not to worry or be anxious. We are to pray and petition God for our request and if it is in His will, we can be confident He will answer our prayers. We are to be so confident in His sovereignty and love that we can thank Him before it happens.
Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
We can also trust that He is the righteous judge, and He will execute justice to everyone. It is not our place to take vengeance, but it is God’s. He will reward and punish according to what is right.
The most important part of making sure we are always giving thanks is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18 we are to be controlled by the Spirit. We are not to allow the things of this world whether it be alcohol, drugs, money, or power to influence or control us. It should not be what consumes us and determines how we feel. A life filled with the Holy Spirit cannot help but be thankful. In Galatians 5:16 Paul says if we walk in the Spirit we will not be controlled by the flesh.
Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
If walking in the Spirit helps us to keep this grateful attitude, then how can we be filled? First, it is not something we can work up or orchestrate ourselves. We are controlled by the Spirit as we yield ourselves to Him moment by moment. Second, the more we know Him, the more we want to be controlled by Him. Third, the Spirit will impart wisdom if we ask. He will comfort us in distress. He will pray for us when we don’t know what to pray for. He will guide us in all truth. As we are yielded, we will want to please Him, and we will be thankful for everything. Knowing the truths presented in this devotional will empower us to live above our circumstances and keep an eternal perspective on life. We must keep our focus and continue in obedience, and we will not have any problem seeing how our gracious God is working in our lives. We need to love God so much that we can say as Paul did in Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
