Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
This month we will celebrate Thanksgiving. In spite of what we call it, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is one of the most stressful times of the year. As someone has said, “T’is the season to be uptight.” But in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul gives us a simple strategy for surviving seasonal stress. That simple strategy is thankfulness.
Thankfulness is the attitude of gratitude and one of the healthiest of all human emotions. Research has shown that thankfulness actually increases our immunities. It makes us more resistant to stress and less susceptible to illness. Austrian medical doctor (endocrinologist), Hans Seyle, well-known for his research on the effects of stress on the human body, writes this:
Among all the emotions there is one which more than any other accounts for the absence or presence of stress in human relations: that is the feeling of gratitude.
Though the Apostle Paul may not have known much about the medical and physiological benefits of thankfulness, he certainly experienced the benefits of thankfulness and he lived what he preached. In writing to the Thessalonian believers, he begins with these words: “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). And then in 1 Thessalonians 3:9 he adds, “How can we thank God enough for you?”
So how can we nurture an attitude of gratitude, not only during this Thanksgiving season, but in all circumstances throughout the year? In this one verse (1 Thessalonians 5:18), Paul tells us how by answering four fundamental questions.
What does it mean to give thanks?
One of the members of a previous church I pastored was named Karissa. The name comes from the New Testament word charis (χαρις) often translated "grace," "thanks," or "gift."
This tells us several things about thankfulness. First, thankfulness springs from grace. Have you ever been asked to “give grace” before a meal? In this sense, to give “grace” is not to give forgiveness, but to give thanks for God’s grace in giving you that meal. We are thankful to the degree that we recognize the grace that God has demonstrated toward us. The old Anglo Saxon term for thankfulness was “thinkfulness.” It is only as we think of God’s grace demonstrated to us in Christ that we can be thankful in all circumstances. In other words, “thinkfulness” on God’s grace leads to thankfulness in all of life.
While thankfulness springs from grace, it results in giving. Picture thankfulness as between two book ends that lend order and stability to what is between them. One bookend to thankfulness is “grace.” That’s the motivation of thankfulness. The other bookend to thankfulness is giving. That’s the expression of thankfulness. In many traditions ever since the second century, the Lord’s Supper is called the Eucharist. At the very center of that word (“eucharist”) is the word charis (χαρις), “grace.” In fact, Jesus himself connects both grace and giving in Luke 22:19 where it is said, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Yes, Jesus “gave thanks.” But then he got up from that table, walked out to the cross, and gave his very life.
Unthankful people are miserly people and miserly people are miserable people. But when we live our lives under the bountiful skies of God’s grace, recognizing just how much he has given us in Christ Jesus, we want to give, and give, and give again!
When are we to give thanks?
Paul answers, “In all circumstances.”
The month of November is always a little difficult for us as a family. Nineteen years ago, within a period of four days, I lost both my oldest son and my mother. I assure you, I was not giving thanks for the illness that took my mom and the tragedy that took my son.
However, Paul does not tell us to give thanks for all circumstances. He tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. What’s the difference? To give thanks for each circumstance is to deny reality by blindly attributing good to an event or circumstance that may well be evil. It is nothing but a futile attempt to view life, the world, and personal experience through rose-colored glasses. It is to live in an idealistic, make believe world that does not exist. The Bible never encourages us to have such a perspective on life.
On the other hand, to give thanks in all circumstances is an expression of explicit trust in a God who is able to take every circumstance of life, whether good or evil, and use it for the ultimate accomplishment of his good purposes. We can give thanks in the most difficult circumstances of life because (1) we know that God is accomplishing the purposes that he wants to carry out, and (2) we know that God is making us the people he wants us to be.
That is the meaning of that well-known but often misunderstood passage of Romans 8:28 (RSV):
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.
God's ultimate objective is not to make us comfortable but rather to make us conformable, i.e. more like Jesus. And when that is our objective, we can indeed give thanks in all things.
When I attended Moody Bible Institute back in the 70s, I had the privilege of hearing Corrie Ten Boom speak in one of our chapel services. Corrie Ten Boom is author of that well known book The Hiding Place, which recounts her and her sister’s experience in a German prison camp during World War Two. She spoke of an incident which taught her the principle of how God is at work in all things for the accomplishment of his good purposes. Corrie and her sister Betsie had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had yet seen, Ravensbruck. When they entered the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea infested. Their scripture reading one morning was taken from our passage, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, reminding them to rejoice always, pray about everything, and to give thanks in all things. Betsie told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord, even in their new living quarters, fleas and all. Corrie at first flatly refused, but Betsie persisted. During the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find out how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several months later when they learned that the guards wouldn’t enter the barracks because of the fleas.
Why are we to give thanks?
The answer is quite simple—it’s God’s will. Paul says simply, “For this is God’s will for you.”
There are very few passages in the Bible that say, “This is God’s will for you.” But two of them are found in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian believers. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Paul writes: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.” The second passage is 1 Thessalonians 5:18. It is as much God’s will that you have a thankful heart as it is his will that you have a pure heart.
How are we to give thanks?
A final question—and a very practical one at that is—how are we to give thanks in all circumstances? How do we nurture this stress-relieving, heart-warming, joy filled practice of thanksgiving in our lives? Paul gives us two suggestions in the latter part of this verse.
First, Paul says that “this is God’s will for you.” More literally he says, “unto you.” What does that mean? It is not simply the fact that God desires that we give thanks in all circumstances, but also that he give us the power to do this. Paul’s argument is not so much, “You must give thanks, because this is God’s will,” but rather, “Knowing this this God’s will, you can give thanks.” That’s what Paul means when he says in Philippians 2:13, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Where God guides, he provides.
Second, remember who you are. Your real and true identity is “in Christ Jesus.” I’m sure that’s why Paul adds, “This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Remember, God is good to all in some ways, but he is good to some in all ways. For those “in Christ Jesus” God is constantly at work, even in the face of horrendous evil, to accomplish his good purposes. To be “in Christ Jesus” is the safest place one can be!
So how does this work out practically? The next time you are tempted to complain, to grumble, to criticize, or become depressed, verbalize your thanks to God like this: “God, I don’t like these circumstances. They are unpleasant and even painful. But I thank you that you desire to work with me even in the most difficult of circumstances to bring about good in this life and glory in the next (Romans 8:28)." Verbalize your thankfulness to God and in time your feelings will catch up.
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