In EVERYTHING Give Thanks
Scripture makes it absolutely clear—and Jesus Himself emphasizes this—that our Lord and Savior desires for our lives to be characterized by His love, His joy, and His peace. He has given the Holy Spirit to abide within us, and therein is the potential for that to be characterized in the life of every single believer in Christ.
Recently, we have been looking at 1 Thessalonians chapter five where we’ve seen these three keys to make that a reality, a genuine possibility. It’s there in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that the Apostle Paul says these three things:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
In our last two podcasts, we looked at those first two admonitions: “rejoice always” and “pray without ceasing.” Today, we are looking at the third imperative that the Lord would have for us, and it’s tied very closely with those first two. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul says:
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
So, obviously, the third admonition is always, Christian, be thankful.
No Exceptions: Thankful in All Circumstances
Notice the wording here: in everything—no exceptions! Those times when we tell ourselves this is NOT good, there is reason, even then, to be thankful to God. Thanks for what?
Thanks that He is still with us. He hasn’t gone anywhere!
Thanks that He has promised that He will help us through this—whatever it is.
Thanks for what He is going to do with this. He will ultimately bring good out of it (Romans 8:28).
There are many other things that we can always be thankful for in our lives.
It brings to mind the words of that classic Christian hymn, Count Your Blessings:
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
The admonition here is to let every circumstance of life, in one way or another, elicit thanksgiving to God from us.
Three Pillars of Absolute Confidence
Of course, it is impossible to do that, unless you are firmly, resolutely and immovably convinced of three foundational truths about God:
1. God Loves You Personally
In John 3:16 we are told:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
That includes you, whomever you are! God, indeed, has such a deep and a personal love for you that He was willing to pay the ultimate price to save your soul. So that love is the basis on which God deals with us. He deals with us on the very basis of that everlasting, unconditional love for us—never forget that, no matter what is happening in your life today.
2. His Power Is Absolutely Infinite
I think of Peter when he was in prison in Acts chapter 5 (and again in chapter 12), facing likely execution. He was chained to guards in a prison cell and his chains fell off, the prison door just floated open, and an angel escorted him out of that prison because it was not God’s will for him to be there. The Lord Himself set Peter free, which obviously confounded the authorities.
That is our God. I like what Jesus says in Luke 18:27:
But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Likewise, in Luke 1:37, Jesus says:
“For with God nothing will be impossible.”
In case you think that that was just for that time, in Hebrews 13:8 we’re told:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
That’s our Lord! I can guarantee you, based on God’s Word, that if there’s any situation that you find yourself in, if God does not have a good reason for you, believer in Him, to be in that situation, He can and He will deliver you. You can bank on it!
So have confidence and assurance that He loves you right now! That love will not change, it’s unconditional! His power is absolutely infinite. There is nothing—nothing—that He cannot overcome.
3. He Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life
God says in Jeremiah 29:11:
“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare [that’s shalom, that’s peace and prosperity] and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” (NASB95)
That’s His absolute assurance to you. And Paul says in Romans 8:28 (don’t you love this verse?):
And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and have been called according to His purpose.
If you are walking in faith in Jesus Christ, God says: the only reason that I’m allowing this in your life, whatever it is, is because of the ultimate good I can bring out of it. That includes everything. Paul goes on in Romans 8:31:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Oh, He has got us so well and so lovingly covered! He’s got a plan for your life, a good one, from beginning to end, based on His love for you and His infinite power. Nothing, and no one, can stop that plan from happening in your life! When those truths are settled within you, His love, His joy, and His peace well up in your heart through it all.
Resting on Three Pillows
I remember hearing the story of an old British pastor who was near death with friends gathered around his bed. Someone asked him how he had slept the previous night. I loved the pastor’s response. He said, “Well, I didn’t sleep too well, but I rested my head on three pillows: the pillow of His infinite love for me, the pillow of His infinite power, and the pillow of His infinite sovereignty. And really, I rested quite well.”
As a Christian, you have the wonderful potential, and the gift, you might say from the Lord in His Spirit, to rejoice always, pray without ceasing (you’ve got an open door to the throne of God), and in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). There’s always good reason to give thanks!
The Doorway to True Fellowship
Paul includes a vital stipulation at the end of this passage: “in Christ Jesus.” Jesus alone is the door into that kind of a relationship with God, into that intimate, eternal relationship that we are gifted with, with our Heavenly Father.
There is no other way! Peter put it so clearly in Acts 4:12 when he said:
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
That’s it. Is He—and He alone—your personal Lord and Savior? Have you invited Him into your heart and into your life, to be Lord of your life, and your only Savior? It’s like we’re told in Revelation 3:20, where Jesus says:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
That’s Jesus saying that He will enter into intimate fellowship with anyone who opens that door to Him. If you haven’t done that yourself, it’s easy to get through that door—just receive Him, receive His invitation personally!
If you have, it’s from that space that He says, Christian: rejoice always (there’s always reason to), pray without ceasing (keep that communication line wide open with your Lord, 24/7), and in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Whatever your circumstances look like today, Christian—whether it is a rejoicing kind of a day or if it’s a Oh, Lord, help me! kind of a day—you have every reason to know you are blessed in the Lord. He is with you, He hasn’t gone anywhere, and He is for you.
About Pastor Brian
Pastor Brian Larson ministered in Truckee, California, for more than 40 years, having moved there with his young family from Southern California in the summer of 1975 to pastor a denominational church in the area. He stepped out in faith in 1978 to begin a nondenominational fellowship in North Tahoe. By June of 1981, the small fellowship had moved to the high school auditorium in Truckee, and it was then that they became known as Calvary Chapel of Truckee. For more than 38 years, the emphasis of Pastor Brian’s ministry at Calvary Chapel of Truckee was simply on the building up of the body of Christ through the clear, objective teaching of the Word of God, the praise and worship of His Name, and diligent prayer. He firmly believed that as the body was fed and nourished in His Word, we would grow in His grace and love. In October of 2019, Pastor Brian stepped down as senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Truckee and soon after moved to Connecticut where he has continued ministering to the body of Christ through teaching engagements and through his non-profit ministry True To His Word.
