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‘In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God.’ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Giving thanks filters joy and resilience into your daily life. Without gratitude your faith becomes a hollow religious practice. Without gratitude your love for others crashes and burns. Without gratitude, you feel drained of contentment, and like a martyr.

When Paul says, ‘In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God,’ he’s not saying every circumstance you encounter is necessarily God’s will. He’s saying that thanksgiving is God’s will. Bill Salier comments that in the fine-print of many insurance policies is a let-out clause about an ‘act of God’. He points out that, while the Bible tells us God rules over all of creation, it’s a very hard truth for us that many disasters are wake-up calls to a world that thinks it is in control. God is reminding us, ‘No, you’re not in control,’ and when we realise that, then we may actually come to look to and depend on the One who is in fact in control.

In fact, we begin to realise that in and through even the worst of circumstances God is working out His plan of redemption. Despite the disasters humanity causes by going our own way, God is still able to make all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (See Romans 8:28). And we should give thanks for that!

Bottom line: in any given set of circumstances you can choose to whine or choose to worship—and you can’t worship without giving thanks!

SoulFood: Lev 15–17, Mark 1:14–20, Ps 25:8–15, Pr 10:1

word4today an adaptation of The Word For Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024

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