In All Circumstances
November 17, 2022
1 Thessalonians 5:18 - “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Both Thessalonian books are very short. 1st Thessalonians is only 5 chapters long and 2nd Thessalonians is only 3 chapters long. Paul is finishing up book one in chapter 5 by encouraging the believers in Thessalonica to live a life that is pleasing in the site of the Lord, a life that glorifies our Father in Heaven. He’s tells us that we should be encouraging the fainthearted, supporting the weak and show goodness and grace to all people.
One of the things that really strikes me in today’s verse is the word “in”. Give thanks IN all circumstances. There’s a difference in giving thanks “in” our circumstances and giving thanks “for” our circumstances. For example, it’s extremely icy out this morning and I’ve heard about 2 accidents on major roads near us. Car accidents are not something we usually give thanks for… but, if we are involved in a car accident, we can give thanks that we have car insurance, or that no one was seriously injured and most especially that we have a God that is always present with us during our accidents. The same with illnesses. We don’t usually thank God for our illnesses, but we can be thankful for doctors and medicines and the knowledge that is out there to treat our illnesses. And again, that God is with us during those illnesses. That we are never alone.
God wouldn’t tell us to do something that is impossible to do. So it must be possible to give thanks in all circumstances. But how do we do that? I think it’s finding one small thing that you can be thankful for each and every day. Maybe it’s that you had food in your fridge to eat breakfast this morning. Or that you had warm water to take your shower. Once you start focusing on the small things, more will come to your mind. And the more you focus on the things in life that you can be thankful for, the more thankful you’ll become.
God is calling us to offer grateful thanks in all our circumstances. No matter what happens in your life, God is in control and He is making sure that everything that happens to you will make you grow closer to Him.