“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” - 1Thessalonians 5:18
Most of us don't appreciate what we have until we lose it all. We tend to overlook the tiny details of life, not knowing that the tiny details add up to much more than we realize.
Take your health, for instance. If you're like me, you have good days and bad days. Yet our worst days could be dramatically worse … and we don't even consider it. We take our eye sight for granted, until the doctor says we have quick-spreading glaucoma. We don't think much about our hearing until we have an inner ear infection. We take our taste for granted until Covid robs us of our taste. Something as simple as rising from a chair seems to be a small task, until you are confined to a wheel chair. I have found that health is a gift that can quickly be taken away. Yet we tend to take it for granted.
Our tendency is to grumble and complain. Things aren't perfect and never will be this side of heaven. We will have our aches and pains. People will disappoint us. Life can be very unfair. We can feel abandoned and alone at times. There is always something we can complain about. For this reason, the Bible often reminds us to give thanks.
Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Notice the wording of this verse: “In EVERY thing give thanks,” (emphasis added). It is one thing to give thanks sporadically, but do we give things for every thing?
As Christians, we love to use the word, “grace.” Grace is God's unmerited favor. Grace is God's mercy and blessings that we don't deserve. Since we don't deserve any blessings, we'd have to classify every blessing as being a love gift from the Father. James put it this way, “Every good and every perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights...” Every blessing, every good thing, is a gift of love from the Father. We are recipients of overwhelming grace every day. But are we grateful for this grace?
Paul wrote, “In every thing give thanks.” Does that mean we should be thankful even during the bad days? Yep. But it is easier said than done, isn't it?
If we are honest, we'd have to confess that the challenges and problems of life have taught us more about walking with God than anything else. Pain and sorrow have a way of driving us to our knees and drawing us close to God. We learn and grow through the obstacles we face. The greatest fruit grows in the valley and not on the mountain-top. Aren't these things to be grateful for?
Also, we fail to thank God for getting us through the bad days. All of our pain and problems are temporary. Do we show gratitude for God's faithfulness during these difficult times? Do we praise Him for delivering us from them? The bad days also show us how blessed we are when the good days come. Yes, we have reason to give thanks even for the rough times.
We should be grateful every day. Here are three things we should do to express our appreciation to God.
SAY IT
SHOW IT
SHARE IT
When we go through a rough time in life, we are tempted to throw a pity party. We can easily feel sorry for ourselves. Yet a visit to a nursing home or the corridors of a hospital can quickly put everything into proper perspective.
The late evangelist Bill Stafford is noted for saying, “Everything above hell is grace.” I have been a recipient of God's abounding grace. Let me testify that God has been good to me. I can never repay Him for all He has done. Every morning His mercies are new. Each day I get deeper in debt to Him because His blessings continue to flow in my life. I have everlasting life because He died for me. He is worthy of my life.
What about you? Are you grateful?
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