Giving Thanks in the Storms

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In circumstance - gratitude isn’t meant to arise apart from circumstance but in the midst of circumstance

In Christ - gratitude isn’t meant to only be placed on the character of God but is to be the result of being found in the presence of God

Overview

Felt need?

Last week we talked about how circumstances cause us to doubt God’s character. What if there was a way to see God’s character through cir...

Do you believe this is God’s desire for you? to be grateful in all circumstances? Do you believe that God’s will for you is good for you?

Don’t experience God’s will because we are focused on accomplishing our will. Our will leads to destruction, emptiness, self-centeredness. God’s will leads to joy, and life to the full.

Solution? Give thanks in all circumstances

Big Idea:

Options:

We walk in God’s will by walking in gratitude

Thanksgiving is meant to be a way of living not just a holiday.

Gratitude is the means by which we continue to experience God’s goodness.

Gratitude isn’t intended to be produced apart from circumstance but in the midst of circumstance.

Gratitude isn’t only found in God but

We get frustrated with God and circumstance wondering how His will is going to be brought about. God’s will isn’t brought about in a way that is dependent on circumstance but God’s will is meant to be experienced/lived in all circumstance.

What if the Will of God wasn’t accomplished by God conforming our circumstances to our will but by conforming our response to His will in the midst of circumstances

When we respond in gratitude we are able to experience the goodness of God’s will for our life

Gratitude is an essential expression that is meant to bring about God’s will for us.

Our experience of God’s will is not dependent on our circumstance but on our response

Today we are looking at when are we to be grateful? More specifically why does the timing of our gratitude matter? (B/c the way we experience the will of God isn’t by waiting for it but by walking in it) (b/c having gratitude in the context of our current situation …

Why do we struggle to be grateful in all circumstances? because we focus more on what’s happening to us than on what God wants to do through us

The present - is the moment in which we are able to assert our will to align with His will.

Overview:

Felt Need: storms in life make it difficult to walk in our calling

Solution: our ability to fulfill our calling isn’t dependent on what happens to us but how we respond

Big Idea: This moment is the time point in which we have the ability to align our will with God’s. Gratitude is one of the ways in which we access the moral will of God for our life.

Gratitude is important for us to embody as a posture and express as a lifestyle if we are to access the will of God for our life.

Flow:

Last week we talked about how to be grateful in all circumstances, by basing our gratitude on who God is > our circumstances. But the reality is our circumstances matter because they are the place in which God desires for us to experience His will for our lives.

Recap last week circumstance v character

Mom “I love you” after sinned

Context matters

When in History did Jesus cry out “Father forgive them”? On the Cross. How we respond IN Circumstance gives weight/added meaning to our response.

circumstance matters

Yet if we know the intended./desired response - gratitude - how do we live it out? How do we make it more than a holiday but a way of living? How do we respond in gratitude not only when life is good but when life is hard?

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The will of God

General/Moral Will vs Sovereign/Providential will

give thanks - why is this the action step? because it’s for our good! Give stats

When? IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

ALL circumstances - Thanksgiving is meant to be a way of living

delightful days

health, education, job, car, starbuck, etc

painful days -

how do we live in gratitude when we are struggling financially?

Lonely?

Rejected by someone we love

longing for our circumstances to change?

How could the hard circumstances of my life be reason to rejoice and thank God?

James 1:1-4, Romans 5:3–5 “3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” , 2 Cor 12:9-10, 1 Peter 1:5–7 “5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Share grandma story

How do we be grateful and why now?

IN all circumstances (not before, not after, but IN) - the timing for which God asks us to be thankful is the present.

Give photo analogy - the only way to control the outcome of the photo is to control the present, you can’t go back in time to change your smile or your posture, neither can you go into the future

“The present is the point at which time touches eternity” - C.S. Lewis

circumstances are comprised of what happens to us and how we respond - we cant control what happens to us but we can control how we respond, so how does God want you to respond? In gratitude.

The present moment matters because it is the place in which we have the ability to exercise our will to align with God’s will.

This moment is the time point in which we have the ability to align our will with God’s.

student quotes

“I’m grateful we had no classes on Wednesday”

“I’m grateful that thanksgiving is coming up this week”

“I’m grateful my mom paid for my meal”

“I’m grateful I passed the exam”

“I’m grateful that my professor canceled class cuz i needed to sleep in”

“I’m grateful the girl I like went on a date with me”

“I’m grateful my roommate decided to move off campus”

Often times the things we are grateful for are based on past moments, occasionally we are grateful for things to come in the future, but rarely are we grateful for what’s happening to us in the present.

Play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHD1utOvak8

How many of yall have played this before?

Do you think timing matters in this game?

Do you think timing matters in life? (yes)

there is a divine melody that is planned and playing over your life - whether or not you live in sync with that melody is dependent not on what hapens to you but how you respond.

Question

Why do we struggle to be grateful in all circumstances? Because we focus more on what’s happening to us than on what God wants to do through us.

God’s will for us is good and perfect - if we want to experience His will for our life, He need not change our circumstances but we must change our response.

Share practically: How does gratitude benefit us? How is it for our good? Share stats on how it lowers depression, suicide, cortisol, etc.

Action Step: Give thanks continually - When something positive happens and when something negative happens find a reason to give thanks. Thank God daily for at least one positive and one negative between now and next week.

Gratitude is one of the ways in which we access the moral will of God for our life.

Ultimately we walk in gratitude we walk in His will and experience His goodness. We are to be full of thanks at all times because thanksgiving is meant to be a way of living - not just a holiday.

Question

Passage

Will of God

All circumstances

Action step: Give thanks

Preposition: IN ALL not after not before, but IN all circumstances.

Thanksgiving is meant to be a way of living; not just a holiday.

God’s will / God’s Desire for you - is for your good

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

John 10:10 NLT

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Gratitude is required for us to experience God’s goodness.

Gratitude is a response to his goodness - Rom 2:4. But also a preq to exp his continued goodness. Why because as we live as He intended/desires us to live we experience the blessing that comes from obedience.

The Key is not just focusing ON Christ (like we discussed last week) but also being IN Christ

Gratitude b/c of the gospel

Romans 8:1 “1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:26 “26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”

Philippians 4:19 “19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

you have an identity that cant be founded by this world and cant be taken from this world so you always have reason to rejoice.

Our identity in Jesus is meant to gives us the means by which we can be full of thanks - always.