1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 5:20 –
The Giving of Thanks in the Times of Trials
This is a list of things housewives are most thankful for: *For automatic dishwashers because they make it possible for us to get out of the kitchen before the family comes back in for their after-dinner snacks. *For husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house because they usually make them big enough to call in the pros. *For children who put away their things & clean up after themselves. They’re such a joy you hate to see them go home to their own parents. *For teenagers because they give parents an opportunity to learn a second language. *And, for Smoke alarms because they let you know when the turkey’s done." (Melvin Newland)
This season is meant to remind us to be thankful. Now, many people don’t take the time to think about WHOM they are thanking. Some nice being up in the sky someone, apparently. However, we as Christians know who it is that we are thankful to. Our God, the Father, maker of heaven and earth, creator of everything in them. And to Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for us. It is God that we are thankful to.
But, when are we thankful? When are we to give thanks? I mean, when was the last time that something bad happened to you? When was the last time something happened to you and the immediate response was certainly not thankfulness? This month? This week? This morning? How far are we to carry the idea of giving thanks? Even when bad things happen? And when they do, how do we thanks God? Today we will look at 2 verses in particular. They are found in Paul’s writings, 1 Thessalonians and Ephesians.
Now, the first passage says this: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess.5:18) In all. We are told that God wants us to give thanks in everything we go through. Well, it doesn’t take very long to see that this is hard. Lots of things are difficult and trying for us. We face pressures and struggles that seem insurmountable. And yet Paul tells us to give thanks. How can that be? Why should that be?
Well, let’s look at that for a few minutes. In all things. You know, when we come to the Lord, we are often told that we have to have faith. We are told we must believe. We must trust. So, we ask Him to forgive us and clean us, to change us and guide us. This is all by faith. And usually we start off great. We feel forgiven and we feel so close to the Lord. But at some point the feelings die out. Always. 100% of the time, the feelings calm down a little. And we are reminded of how much we still are like how we used to be. We don’t feel forgiven anymore and we don’t feel as close to the Lord anymore.
And we are faced with a choice. Turn back now and figure it was all a hoax, a figment of our imaginations. Or, we can press on. Many back out at this point. To keep going would feel fake. And so they give up. That’s what happens when you make a decision on faith but keep running by feelings.
But you know, God hasn’t changed. He’s still there. He still loves you. He still wants to forgive and clean you. That’s still His nature. But He allows the feelings to fade a little so that you aren’t running from one emotional high to another. He has to make you feel like you’re in the dark so that you will stumble towards the light.
How does this fit in with thanksgiving? Sometimes we go through dark times, even as older believers. But God still loves you. He still wants to forgive and clean you. And He wants you to trust Him even in the dark times. Giving thanks to God in everything, including our hardships and turmoil, is an act of faith. It’s certainly not an act of feelings. It’s an act of faith. It’s saying, “I trust you even now, Lord.” It’s saying, “I know You’re there behind the clouds, Father.” It’s saying, “I believe that this hasn’t got to come between us.”
It’s a matter of trust and hope, even through sorrow and loss. Someone wrote these words: I am thankful for...the taxes I pay, because it means I’m employed...The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat...My shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine...A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home...The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking...My huge heating bill because it means I am warm...All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.. ..The lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear...The piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby...The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive...And weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive. Folks, in all the circumstances of life, God is still good. And He’s still good to you. And He’s still good for you. Our passage once again says: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
But the Ephesians passage says it a little differently. 5:20 says this: always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you catch that? For everything. Not in it, but for it? As if giving thanks to Him in our hard times wasn’t hard enough. Now we have to thank Him for our hard times? Come on!
A word of caution. Don’t take one verse of the Bible, any verse, and try to make it make sense without looking at other verses as well. That’s how cults are formed. One verse, one idea, and building a whole theology on it. Don’t do it.
But we do have to look at it. What could it possibly mean to thank Him for everything? Does that mean that we are to thank God for all the horrors in the world? The terrorism, the needless deaths, the suicide bombings, the abortions, the mass genocides… we are to thank God for these? This is a tricky situation. I mean, we want to give God the credit for what He has done, but we don’t want to blame Him for what Satan has done.
While God does not create evil, He does allow it to happen. He uses it to reveal Himself to us. He uses it to teach us. For example, Scottish preacher George Matheson realized that he was not as ready to praise God when things went wrong as he was when they went right. However, after he began to lose his eyesight, he changed his thinking. He struggled for a few months with the burden until he reached the point where he could pray, “My God, I have never thanked You for my thorn. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensated for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the value of my thorn.”
Folks, when we count our blessings, we should include the weaknesses, the hardships, the burdens, and the trials we face. If we do, we might find that God has used our difficulties more than the “good” things to help us grow spiritually. Why is that? Because it is in those difficult places that we discover the sufficiency of His grace. In our trials, we turn to God. As we depend on Him, we find that His strength is made perfect in our weakness - 2 Cor.12:9.
That is how we thank God for everything. Not that everything is good, but because God can use it for our good. A speeding ticket is not in itself good, but if we use it to smarten up and maybe save a life, then it can be for our good. Folks, the hardships you face may not be from God, but God indeed wants to use them to make you better. The fire is never a comfortable place to be, but if it makes the gold pure, then it’s worth it. This requires the eyes of faith, too. You can’t do this without trusting that God’s got your best interests at heart, and wants to use even hard times to make you better. You have to believe the message of Romans 8:28, that God will work all things, good and bad, into something beautiful for those that love Him. And it is that level of living that God has called us to. Trusting Him, blessing Him, and thanking Him in dark times.
Thirty years ago these words were written: “I’ve had many tears and sorrow; I’ve had questions for tomorrow. There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong. But in every situation, God gave blessed consolation that my trials only come to make me strong. I’ve been to lots of places and I’ve seen a lot of faces and there’ve been times I felt so all alone. But in my lonely hours, oh, those precious lonely hours, Jesus let me know I was His own. I thank God for the mountains and I thank Him for the valleys. I thank Him for the storms He brought me through. For if I’d never had a problem, I wouldn’t know He could solve them - I’d never know what faith in God could do. Through it all, through it all - I’ve learned to trust in Jesus; I’ve learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all - I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.” These words by Andrae Crouch show us how to thank God for all the things in life. These serve as a lesson that God is ever-faithful, keeping all His promises, loving us when we don’t deserve it, revealing His amazing patience towards us, displaying His unlimited goodness towards us. This is the God we thank today.
Because life is so good? No, because He is so good. Because life treats us so well? No, because God treats us better than we deserve. We thank Him in everything and for everything. In everything, because He is still there for us, no matter what happens on the outside. And for everything, because even a tragedy in the life of a Christian can be turned around by God’s power to become something great.
I’m reminded of a story. As two men were walking through a field one day, they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it. Terrified, the one shouted to the other, “Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for it!” John answered, “I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life.” “But you must!” implored his companion. “The bull is catching up to us.” “All right,” panted John, “I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to repeat at the table: ‘O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.’”
Kinda silly, but true nonetheless. Let’s be thankful, even in difficult times. Let’s keep our faith in Him, believing that He’ll see us through, and even more, that He’ll use this time to make us better people. Let’s give God our thanks for what He has done for us.
(All illusrations except "Through It All" come from SermonCentralPro and www.bible.org.)
