In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I Thessalonians 5:18
On this day, which is the day we celebrate Thanksgiving (in the United States, at least), we will look at what is probably the most famous verse in the Bible about being thankful.
“In every thing give things: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
It is easy to be thankful on a day like today. Many of us are surrounded by family and/or friends. Many of us have tables full of food ready to be eaten in our comfortable homes. We truly have much to be thankful for. Even people who do not know the Lord will be thankful today.
But this verse would have us take our thankfulness to the next level. It tells us “in every thing give thanks.” That is a little more difficult than thanking the Lord for your family and the big turkey dinner you’re about to eat. That includes thanking the Lord for things that we may not understand. That includes thanking the Lord for things that we may not like or want in our lives.
The rest of the verse gives us the reason that we should give thanks in “every thing.” “…for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” We can be thankful for every thing because we understand that God knows best. We understand that, whatever may happen, it is from God and it is for a reason. And that is definitely something for which we can be thankful all of the time!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Justified Freely 