Followby Brian Waple
“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NLT)
Driving home from a meeting this morning, I passed a church with this message on their sign: “In Everything Give Thanks.” After reading that, it made me think about what it meant. I mean, during this time of Thanksgiving, I know we all get caught up in the trappings of Thanksgiving dinners and football games and visiting relatives, and we often need to be reminded to actually be thankful. And certainly in the good times, I am very thankful—thankful for my family, thankful for a job, thankful for good health, thankful for a community in which to worship God. I thank God always for these things.
But I think Paul means more than that in this first letter to the Thessalonians. He had taught them that in spite of any persecution they may be suffering, or worldly temptations they might be facing, they should be thankful God loves them so much that He is constantly working among them to accomplish His will. Throughout much of what is now Turkey, Paul had been preaching the Good News. And what was that Good News? That God Himself had come to Earth in the form of a Jewish baby named Jesus; that He had lived a sinless life; that He had preached the true God and ministered to the masses; that because of Pharisaical prejudice and fear, He was taken captive, tried, convicted, and put to death on a cross; and that He was buried and three days later rose from the dead to mediate on our behalf. Thankful for the crucifixion? Absolutely, especially when you consider that through that heinous act, the free gift of salvation and eternal life was made available to those who believe.
So does that mean I should be thankful for the bad things that happen, as well as the good? Bad things happen. But one thing I’m continuing to learn about God is that regardless of what’s happening to me or those around me, God is present. And God is good. Even when I sense that prayers are not being answered or I don’t understand what’s happening, I believe that God knows and God acts. And in that, I can truly be thankful.
So, as we celebrate the season, may we be reminded of everything we have to be thankful for—the good and the not so good. Because God is in all of it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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