Why Should We Give Thanks in Everything? - Give God Thanks Series Week 2

In everything give thanks;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 New King James Version

Do you want to know God’s will for your life? Here is one of them in this verse. Switch the sentence around: This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you – In everything give thanks. Do you want to know your purpose in life? Here is one purpose God has for you: give thanks in everything.

Why does God want thanks? Is it to make him feel good? Is it to make him feel encouraged? Does God need affirmation from our gratitude? I don’t think so. Giving thanks in everything is going to help you. It is going to develop you in a positive way. It can seriously change your life. God wants to help you live a better life. He wants you to live with peace and joy. He only asks us to do what can improve our lives.

What will giving thanks in everything do for you? What will giving thanks to God do for you and me? It will do many things. First it will point your eyes and your heart to your Creator in any circumstance. It forces you to look to God even in the worst of times. Giving thanks compels you to look to God in all things and to trust Him. Following this commandment gives you no other option than to look at God always. If you give thanks to God in everything, it means you are going to Him often, very often.

What else will it do for you? It will change your point of view in life. You will look at negative situations differently. These circumstances you face, both good and bad, start to appear as a journey to a destination that God has planned for you. You will begin to look at the bigger picture. As you begin to give thanks in everything, watch out - God’s plan starts to reveal itself!

Do you want to keep your eyes on God? Do you want to start seeing God’s plan for your life? Then start following this instruction from 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “In everything give thanks.”

This week we will continue to meditate so that we can put God’s words in our hearts, and get our hearts on board with our minds. Meditate on the second half of this verse now.

 

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.     

 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)

Take it a few words at a time each day. The word “for” means because. Why should I give thanks in everything? Because (for) it is the will of God for me. That makes me take this giving thanks task a lot more seriously. I need to do this because it is God’s will for me.

God’s will is his desire, but it also has another meaning. The word “will” in this verse derives from the Greek word thelema, which means purpose or intent. God’s will for us is not simply his desire for us. It is his purpose and intent for us! God’s will is his design for us. Thessalonians 5:18 tells us clearly one of God’s purposes for us. God’s design for you (his will for you) is to give thanks in everything. This is getting serious now. It’s not just about having a positive attitude and being grateful to God more often. It is about God’s purpose for us!

I urge you to meditate on the words “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” this week. Let God cause those words to take new meaning in you.

Let me show you some words from Jesus on this subject of God’s will for us. When Jesus was sitting among a crowd his mother and brothers arrived. Read this passage.

Mark 3:32-35

A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

I want to be a sister to Jesus. “Me, me!” I yell, while raising my hand up high like an eager kid in school. “I want to be your sister Jesus!” I say.

“Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother,” Jesus said. Ok believers of Jesus Christ meditate this week and give thanks in everything. Meditate on: “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I am telling you it will change your heart. Meditation is powerful, yet simple. It is nothing more than pondering God’s words. When you look at words from God and consider the meaning, God will honor your love for his Word. God will give you revelation that is unique to you. Imagine how God might feel watching you take his words and put them in your thought life. As a writer I would imagine that it would be a beautiful sight for the author. God loves you and loves for you to enjoy his Word.

This week is your week to do the will of God. This week you will fulfill a purpose God has for you on earth. You will give thanks to God in everything!