In everything give thanks.

"In everything give thanks"

This verse comes form Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 18.

How can we give thanks in everything? Is the Bible presenting an unrealistic ideal for us to adhere to?

On this Thanksgiving day we have much to give thanks for living in Canada, especially as we look around the world, and the amount of cruelty and persecution there is, and particularly persecution of Christians (largely unreported in the western media). But there's always suffering wherever you live, so how can people who are suffering hardship and loss give thanks?

The first thing to remember is that this verse is part of an instruction to the Church. This letter is sent to the Church in Thessalonica; and "Church" in this context means the believers in Jesus Christ.

Jesus calls those who believe in Him "living stones", and He himself is the "corner-stone". A church is not a building, but a living temple of people.

To give thanks may be be good therapy at all times, and particularly at times when hardships strike. It may well be a good antidote to have a thankful heart in a humanistic sense, but that is not the primary point here.

For as believers, we know that God is a loving God, and we rest on the whole of scripture which tells us of God's love for us.

One verse in particular which speaks of God's loving care is found in Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verse 28:

"We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose." (RSV)

 We know that God has a plan which goes beyond the temporary suffering or the circumstances we may be in now. There are countless examples of God's plan working through the hardships and sufferings to go beyond their present condition to take His people to that place He planned for them.

We look to the Old Testament and we see the words of Joseph, who suffered a terrible injustice and evil at the hands of his jealous brothers. But despite the wrong done to him, Joseph understood that God had a bigger plan::

"As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (RSV)

God used Joseph to save his family, and many people besides.

If we read through that whole section of Genesis about Joseph, we see that he was sold into slavery by his brothers, but when in Egypt he was framed by the wife of his master, and thrown into jail. But Joseph would not lose faith in God, despite his condition.

In fact we see that God was faithful to Joseph even in prison while He was working out His plan for Joseph. We see that God "was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love" (RSV).

Being sold into slavery, being falsely accused, being thrown into prison, were all necessary steps for God's plan to come to fruition. Joseph could not see how his condition could lead to the future blessing that he was to receive, but he trusted God despite his condition. Trusting God and giving thanks to God go hand in hand; you can't do one without doing the other.

So let's return again to our primary verse.

"In everything give thanks"

I turn now to today's offering from Our Daily Bread, titled "Details, Details":

Details make a difference. Ask the man from Germany who planned to visit his fiancée for Christmas but ended up in snowy Sidney, Montana, instead of sunny Sydney, Australia.

Prepositions in our language seem like insignificant details, but they can make a big difference. The words “in” and “for” are an example.

The apostle Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks” (1 Thess. 5:18). That doesn’t mean we have to be thankful for everything.

We need not be thankful for the bad choices someone makes, but we can be thankful in the circumstances because the Lord can use the resulting difficulties for good.

Read "Details, Details" at Our Daily Bread.

Finally, if we look at another translation of our verse, we see a slight difference, the meaning is not changed but a different key word makes the writer's meaning clearer:

"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (RSV)..

This translation is from the Revised Standard Version (RSV).


So today on this Thanksgiving Day in this wonderful land of Canada, where we have so many blessings, and reflect on the love of God, who is working events for good, and give thanks to Him whatever our circumstances.

Gurth Whitaker,