Resounding Praise

Resounding Praise

by Grant Gaines

Don’t you just hate it when you can’t quite seem to see what God’s will is for a decision you need to make? Some of these decisions are huge, life-altering choices such as, “Is this guy or girl the one I should marry?” “Should I accept this job or that job?” “Do we move now or wait until the kids are out of school?” And others are of lesser importance but still just as pressing. “Do we spend our vacation in the mountains or on the beach?” “Do I buy the black one or the red one?” And, of course, the ever reoccurring question of, “Paper or plastic?”

But on the flip side of the coin, how wonderful is it when God makes His will exceedingly clear to us. Of the many instances we could point to as an illustration of God revealing His will to us, why not look at God’s will regarding thanksgiving given its now the holiday season? And no, I’m not talking about the holiday Thanksgiving and whether God prefers to call it “stuffing” or “dressing”. I’m talking about giving thanks.

At the end of his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul pours out a waterfall of instruction on his audience. Depending on how you want to count it, from 1 Thessalonians 5:12 through the end of the book (all of 16 verses), Paul gives out 19 unique commands for the church members to follow. We see Paul charge his audience with everything from respecting those in authority (1 Thess. 5:12) all the way down to demanding that his letter be read to all the believers in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 5:27).

Wedged in the middle of Paul’s list of final instructions, we find one of those instances in Scripture where God makes His will obvious to all who read. This instance is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) in which Paul implores the believers in Thessalonica as well as the believers today to, “…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Now I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I can interpret that verse. God’s will for us is to give thanks in all circumstances. Or in other words, God wants us to be in a constant state of thanksgiving rather than wait for the fourth Thursday in November of every year to roll around.

In view of this command, we can respond in one of two ways. We can either respond in obedience or we can respond in disobedience. There is no other option.

In the Old Testament we see a beautiful illustration of someone responding to the difficult circumstances of life in obedience to the command given in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.  If there was ever someone who legitimately had a right to complain, it was Job. After losing all of his prized possessions, including his dearly loved children, Job responds by, “… [falling] to the ground in worship and said…The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21, NIV, italics mine). Job was able to respond to his awful circumstance in praise because his attitude was not conditional on what he had but on whom he belonged to – God (Job 1:8). It was a choice he made.

The Bible also has stories of men and women who chose not to give thanks in all circumstances. If you ever feel yourself drifting towards this camp, check out James 1:22-24 (NLT). “But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the Word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.” From this passage we see that by not obeying God’s commands, we are only deceiving and harming ourselves.

First of all, we should be thankful because we have been commanded by God to do so. But even beyond God’s command to be thankful, don’t we truly have so much to be grateful for? By reading this blog, you are better off than the 785 million adults in the world who cannot read. If you can pour yourself a glass of clean water, you are more fortunate than 780 million people who lack access to clean drinking water.  If you sleep in your own bed at night, you are in the minority as roughly 75% of the world’s population does not. And if you have even one computer you are among the top 4-5% of the world.

Indeed there is a lot to be thankful for. But what could we as Christians be more thankful for than God Himself choosing to sacrifice His one and only Son, Jesus, to save our miserable souls from eternal separation from Him? With this thought in mind, won’t you join me in celebrating Thanksgiving every day, starting today?  It’s your choice.

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©Grant Gaines 2013