God's Will for You: Give Thanks

Thanksgiving: God’s Will

Text: I Thessalonians 5:18. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.



A Christian wants to know the will of God. When the risen Christ appeared to St. Paul on the road to Tarsus and Paul was converted, he immediately asked, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

For some Christians, seeking God’s will is knowing what to do about decisions we have to make. Study history or biology? Marry Bob or Harry? Buy the standard or deluxe washing machine?

So they may seek a sign from God. There was a young farmer who was trying to decide if he should become a minister. One day when he was working in the fields he looked up and saw clouds that formed the letters “P” and “C.” He thought, “I’ve got my answer! That means, ‘Proclaim Christ!’” He didn’t consider the clouds might mean, “Plant corn.”

If we truly want to know God’s will, we must turn not to signs, but to the Bible, the only infallible revelation of God’s will. The Bible is clear about giving thanks.

St. Paul tells us in the 18th verse of the 5th chapter of 1 Thessalonians, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” Giving thanks is God’s will. Paul had a great concern that new Christians know the importance of giving thanks.

Paul knows that failure to give thanks is a mark of those who know from nature that God exists but suppress what they know:

...when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21).

Giving thanks is an outworking of the new life we have in Christ:

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6,7).

Thanksgiving is the opposite of the old self-gratifying life:

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks (Ephesians 5:3,4).

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:18-20).

Even when we are anxious, or perhaps especially when we are anxious we must not forget giving thanks when we make our requests to God:

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6).

So Paul repeatedly exhorts Christians to be thankful people:

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful (Colossians 3:15).

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him (Colossians 3:17).

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2).

It is clear that being thankful is essential to being a Christian. Paul not only tells us to be thankful but to be thankful in everything.

Giving thanks for everything means giving thanks in good times when life is going well and there is not too much that troubles us. Giving thanks in prosperous times would seem natural and easy. But often it’s not. Have you ever noticed that children who lack for nothing lack gratitude and are more prone to complain when things don’t go their way? Unfortunately that trait is not confined to children. We tend, as Bishop Ryle wrote, “to hide our blessings under a bushel and set our troubles on a hill.” We need to cultivate the spirit and practice of thanksgiving and to be intentional about giving thanks. With the psalmist we should say to ourselves, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

We should give thanks in bad times when life is hard, when we feel it is falling apart. The emphasis is on maintaining a spirit of thanksgiving in all circumstances. You cut the pumpkin pie and realize you took it out of the oven too soon. You have an automobile accident. You have the aches and pains of old age. But we seek intentionally to have a thankful spirit.

Let me tell you how we can be thankful in everything, even for the bad things. It is because you know that for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, all things work together for good. God is in control and has a plan. Sometimes we see God’s good purpose in this life. You look back and you see that God was working for your good in things that were very painful. We won’t always see the purpose in this world. But for those in Christ, God weaves together every thread of our lives into a beautiful tapestry we will see in the life to come.

There is one thing you can always be thankful for - the certainty of the salvation God has accomplished for you in Christ Jesus. Your sins are forgiven. You are adopted into God’s family. God’s Spirit lives and works in you. You know the verdict that will be rendered on the day of judgment, because you are righteous in Christ. You know that God who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ. You can be confident that God who did not spare his own Son but delivered him up for you will with him graciously give you all things. You know that nothing at all can separate you from the love of God in Christ our Lord.

We are happy to observe Thanksgiving Day. But for Christians thanksgiving is a way of life.