“In” Everything Give Thanks

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Do you give thanks to God in everything?  When you face the daily trials of life, do you give thanks to God for them?  I think this is one of the hardest things to do in life.  Partly I think it is because we sometimes miss the word “in” that is used in this verse.  It says to give thanks “in” everything not “for” everything. 

The definition of “in” is “expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else.”  So as an example I will use a personal experience.  I had cancer.  If I express this situation it would be like drawing a circle within another circle.  The outer circle would be the effects of the cancer.  The inner circle would be what my heart and mind are doing as I am going through it. 

If I restated this verse it would say “For everything give thanks”.  If I thank God for everything I would thank Him for the cancer, the pain of surgery, the loss of weight, losing my hair and eyebrows, nausea and any other number of things that occurred during that time. These are all outer symptoms and signs of the disease.

If I thank God “in” everything here is how it is different.  I thank Him for the opening of my eyes to see Him clearly for the first time in my life.  I thank Him for the clarity that cancer gave me to see what is really important in life and what is not.  I would thank Him for helping me to see another person’s suffering through cancer and to be compassionate and understanding.  At the time I even thanked God for the loss of my hair because it taught me that my outer appearance didn’t matter and wasn’t important.  Thanks would go to Him for helping me survive ovarian cancer for 10 years when the life expectancy of an ovarian cancer survivor is 5 years and only 15% of ovarian cancers are found in an early stage and mine was Stage 1.  I praise God for that early stage.  I thank Him for the experience that led me to where I am today, not the outer symptoms. The best thing of all is that when we give thanks in our circumstances, it shows other people who God really is and what He can do. 

The difference in the two ways of looking at this verse is that one looks at the external and the other looks at the internal.  God is more concerned about my heart and mind than my outer appearance.  Everything outside is superficial, while everything inside is eternal.  If I look at my suffering from an eternal perspective, I will see more of Him and I will not place as much value on the external. 

The most valuable thing in this world is salvation.  It is priceless because someone paid the price for me and stood in my place for my sin.  I will give thanks in all circumstances because someone stood in my place and paid a much higher price than anything I will ever face on this earth.  That in itself is a priceless blessing.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for the trials of this life. When I am in the midst of them it is often hard to sing praises because suffering is a big part of living in this world. I thank You for those very circumstances that taught me more about You and Your love for me.  When I am in the midst of suffering the things of this world, remind me that You are there for me and will never leave me.   

     

Scripture: The Eternal Faithfulness of the Lord

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!  Psalm 105:1-6