LAST LESSONS #116 – LAST THINGS – PART 5 – GRATITUDE

 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Since next week is Thanksgiving, I won’t be writing a blog. But I can’t miss writing on gratitude. So here goes—

Being grateful in all circumstances is not easy. When we are sick or hurting, when we lose a loved one or even a pet, when we see crime and murder of unborn babies, when money is short and food too expensive, when we can’t send our children to good schools and our churches don’t teach them well, when we see friends and relatives turn away from God it’s hard to be thankful.

I am not a scholar, but I am an English teacher, so I notice 1 Thessalonians 5:18 does not say that we are to give thanks “for” all circumstances. It says we are to give thanks “in” all circumstances. Prepositions are important. One little preposition can totally change the meaning of a sentence. We certainly are not thankful for all the evil in the world, but we can give thanks in evil because we know that no matter how bad things look, God is not surprised. He controls all things, even the bad things, and it is he who allows them to happen. So, let’s see how we can still give thanks even in the bad things.

• When we are sick or hurting, we can give thanks for doctors and medicine.
• When we lose a loved one or a pet, we can give thanks that God comforts us.
• When there is crime or abortions, we can give thanks for our police and pro-life pregnancy centers.
• When money is short and food is expensive, we can give thanks that we have a welfare system and food stamps if necessary.
• When we can’t send our children to private schools and our church does not teach them well, we can give thanks for school choice and the possibility of moving to another church.
• When we see our friends and relatives turn away from God, we can give thanks that we can pray for them and ask God to give us opportunities to tell them of God’s love.

Becoming a grateful person will do wonders in your life. The author of a delightful book on gratitude gave me her book and it helped me tremendously. I’m talking about Mary Mohler’s book Growing in Gratitude: Rediscovering the Joy of a Thankful Heart.

We all give thanks at the Thanksgiving table. Each person comes up with at least one thing he or she is thankful for. Right? It’s so good to hear each person tell something for which they are thankful, even the special ones like “We get TWO days off from school.” or “I can eat all the pie and ice cream I want!” or “I’m thankful for my mommy.”

But I remember when our kids were young, each night at the supper table instead of asking them what they learned at school, we would ask them, “What is the best thing that happened to you today?” It’s amazing what we learned! I still use that question sometimes when my “elderly” friends spend too much time complaining about the food we are served.

Giving thanks in all circumstances is God’s will for us “in Christ Jesus.” Only Christians can give thanks in all circumstances because we Christians know another verse that reminds us that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28.

Yes, even sick or hurting, losing a loved one, seeing the crime rate and abortions go up, not enough money, no good schools for our kids, and no good churches nearby, seeing friends and relatives turn away from God. In all these things Christians can give thanks because we have God—and he has us in the palm of his hand.