In all things, give thanks

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thess 5:18, ESV)

I do not find it easy to be thankful. It is difficult to be thankful in hard times and I feel guilty to be thankful in good times. Therefore, it is a comfort to read here in 1 Thessalonians that we are to give thanks in all circumstances, good and bad.

If we look at the original Greek, ἐν παντὶ εὐχαριστεῖτε· τοῦτο γὰρ θέλημα θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς ὑμᾶς, it literally means "in everything be giving thanks, for this is the will of Christ Jesus concerning you".

The verse begins with "in everything", followed by an imperative "give thanks". This accentuates the command in that first it focuses us on all of our happenings, nothing gets put aside, it is in all things that we must give thanks to God.

Therefore, in my good times, it is really the blessing that God pours on me and in my bad times, he is still with me, sustaining me through it all as I grow and mature in him.

And for that, I am thankful, that I can be thankful in all circumstances, because it is all in God's grand plan of salvation and sanctification.

pearlie