God's Will: Give Thanks

Have you ever struggled with a decision, trying to know what God’s will was for you? There are times in life when we want to know the will of God but there doesn’t seem to be a clear direction. Some of the decisions I’ve asked God about were what to major in in college, whether to sell the house I grew up in to move to CT, and which job to take. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will give guidance, and sometimes God leaves us to use our reason, but sometimes God has already told us in the Scripture what His will is. Our passage today is one of those times.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV84

give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

In the final instructions of this letter Paul has been reminding the Thessalonians what the Christian life is all about. He has just said, “Be joyful always, pray without ceasing”. Now he tells them to give thanks in all circumstances. These instructions are just as valid for us today.

A little boy was asked by his father to say grace at the table. While the rest of the family waited, the little guy eyed every dish of food his mother had prepared. After the examination, he bowed his head and honestly prayed, “Lord, I don’t like the looks of it, but I thank you for it, and I’ll eat it anyway. Amen.”

This little boy may have the right idea. He’s honest about his feelings, he brings them to God and still give thanks, he accepts what is placed before him.

Paul does not mean we are to ignore or deny difficulties or painful circumstances. When we give thanks, especially in trials, we are affirming our faith in God:

His presence with us

His promises for us

His power in us

For Paul, those who trust God’s sovereignty and love can give thanks in every situation. I remember many years ago when I was taking my home church’s youth group to a showing of the movie “The Hiding Place”. I had gone to the theater earlier in the day to get the tickets to make sure we’d be able to get in. When we got to the theater that evening I discovered that I had tickets for the 9:30 showing, not the 7:00 PM showing. As we were standing in the lobby wondering what to do we overheard another church youth group who had come from some distance and could only get tickets for 9:30. We invited them to join us for a quick bite to eat and then to come to our church, which wasn’t far away, and we had a good time getting to know each other. Then we all went to see the movie together. What started out as a mistake and inconvenience turned into an opportunity for ministry and fellowship.

A thankful heart should simply be a way of life for those whom God has redeemed through Christ.

It is in Christ that we are given the dynamic through the Holy Spirit that enables us to carry out that divine will.

Scottish preacher George Matheson had often trusted God to help him manage the near-blindness that he had suffered since childhood, but he could not remember ever thanking God for this dreadful affliction. Then he prayed: “My God, I have never thanked you for my ‘thorn’. I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my ‘thorn’.… Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbows.”

Giving thanks to God is not simply saying the words, “Thank you”, but is a matter of the attitude of our heart and letting the way we live be a demonstration of our gratitude to God.

Colossians 3:17 NIV84

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

God has told us what His will is – to give thanks, not just on one special day a year, not only when life is easy and all is going well, but in all circumstances. The question is not what is God’s will, the question is will we obey and follow God’s will?