Thanks Living

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

To many people in America, Thanksgiving holiday means three things: family, food and football. For the Christian, every day is Thanksgiving. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Apostle Paul wrote, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Long before our government set aside the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, the Bible encouraged believes to make gratitude part of daily living.

We need a time of thanksgiving, not just in November, but every day. We need to remind ourselves how blessed we really are. We tend to focus on the things we don't have rather than the things we do possess. We often complain about the things that don't seem right in our lives rather than giving thanks for the things that are good. If we did an honest assessment of our lives, we would come away from the experience convinced that we are blessed.

We tend to lose sight of the blessings we have because we are continually reaching for “better things.” As Americans, we are richer than a large percentage of people globally, but you'd never know it by how act. In third world countries, many go without food daily. We don't have that problem, do we? A visit to the ICU reminds us not to take our health for granted. When we visit a nursing home, we are reminded how challenging the end of life can be.

Notice in Paul's words to the Thessalonians that we are to give thanks, “In every thing.” We'd prefer for to be told to give things for some things or even most things. But all things? Let's be honest for a moment. There are some things we aren't grateful for. Did you ever give thanks for a migraine headache or a kidney stone? Most would not give thanks for a cancer diagnosis or gut-wrenching divorce proceedings.

Yet we are challenged to give thanks, “In every thing.” Our painful and perplexing circumstances must be understood as we examine them from a divine perspective. In Romans 8:28, Paul wrote, “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.” Notice that “all things work together for good,” for those who love God. It doesn't say that all things are good, but that all things work together for good. Thus, we can thank God for all these things, seeing that He works them all together for good.

When you consider that you should be in hell, it tends to sharpen your focus. The late evangelist, Bill Stafford, once said, “Anything above hell is grace.” From that perspective, we can give thanks for all things that we experience in life, even the hardships. We are heaven-bound saints because of the grace of God. That is something to be thankful for, wouldn't you agree?

Rather than having Thanksgiving, there should be Thanks Living. Our lives should be marked by perpetual gratitude. If you have much to be thankful for, shouldn't your attitude, actions and conversations reflect this?

Live with gratitude. As one preacher once put it, “Only turkeys aren't grateful on Thanksgiving.”