1Th 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”. (KJV)

            Poor beginnings, bitter endings, disappointments and regrets; when everything else in the universe comprises to make you feel pitiful about yourself; when all you see is darkness and there’s nothing good anymore about what’s going on with your life; when you are too much trapped and like drowning in that sin you’re in, when frustrations and anxieties come flooding your head,   and when the people around you seemed to not care about you anymore--- Admit it, it will put you almost out of your mind. Should you give thanks?

            Easy to say… “I will thank God, because He’s making me into someone better” probably better said than done. But have you ever thought of why the apostle Paul has to mention we have to give thanks in all circumstances? Doing something for no apparent reason or for just merely conforming to others without proper conviction won’t work until you know why God is leading you through it.

            Looking at the Scriptures, 1 Thessalonians has 3 significant words to direct us to our answer, “thank” “everything” and “will”. The first one is the word ”thanks” that came from the word “eucharisteo” which in Hebrew is a verb meaning “to thank” which is synonymous to say grace at a meal, or to be thankful for a favor. “Everything” which came from the Hebrew word “pas” that literally means all kinds of declension. God commands us to give thanks about “all kinds of declension, as many as, whatsoever, or anything.”

            And the last one is “will” though it has been used with several definitions in the scriptures, but in this context it rotted in “thelēma” that means “choice, decree, purpose, pleasure or desire” WHAT? God desires for me to suffer like this?! I can say probably with a big grin on my face.

            Putting those three words together, we can rephrase Paul’s statement as “be able to Thank God for his grace and favor in all kinds of declension, whatsoever that may be, because it is his direction, his choice and decree, which is also his pleasure and desire for you in Christ”

            It’s easy to thank God for his favor and grace when life is in its best. As Christians, we see our salvation as an enjoyable life, smooth-sailing and always on the sunny side always something to be thankful for. True, indeed, the Christian life is the best life that you could ever live, don’t get me wrong. But we all know that we all go through different circumstances that challenge our faith. What about those? Should we thank God we’re in the midst of a trial? Should we thank God that we’re suffering and almost drowned in tribulation? I say a big YES. “God would give me victory after all this things, what I have to do is just to hope and pray.” You might say in that boat you’re in. Right! But what if God never allowed you to get out of that trouble? What if after that nuisance in your road, you find yourself defeated? What if you’re going through a something confusing and you just have that feeling that God is so far from you, that you almost lost all your reasons and motivations to pray, read the bible and approach God? What if you just wasted all your strength and gave your all, but it all went to nothing? What if you ask God to forgive you but you can’t help but to continue sinning? WHAT IF?! Should you still thank God? Should you still be grateful with that? Well, Yes I say again.

            Why? Because this is His will, and his will is “pleasing and perfect” (Romans12:2), “all things work together for our good” (Romans8:28), and he “loves us with an everlasting Love” (Jeremiah31:3) would he give you something that won’t work for your good? Remember, GOD is sovereign, he knows everything, and “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things” (Romans 11:36) more than winning, learning takes something heavier. You have to taste something bitter to know what bitter means; you have to ride a roller coaster to be able to describe how the feeling was after it; you have to go to a place to be able to describe to someone else the beauty that captured your eyes. They say experience is the best teacher, but a friend one told me evaluated experience is better. God allows you to go through different things and he keeps some “thorns in your flesh” to remain in you for you, to hunger for Him, to keep you humble and human, to make you stronger and wiser. God allows those things so that one day, if someone else goes through the same pain you’ve been through, you can encourage others too. 

            God allows those things because it gives Him pleasure to see you hope in him. It is his purpose to make you see he wants you to be satisfied in him only, not in the number of problems you have overcome, He wants you to know that having Him and experiencing His love is more than enough to keep you going, even though everything around you is falling and fading away.His top most concern is His glory, and His glory is what's best for you.

            Things in your life should be a reason for you to draw yourself nearer to God, not away from Him. And once you have learned to thank God in everything, it is the very moment that you can say you’re being still and strongly standing in the love and the arms of the Father that made you new. For giving thanks an expression of a steadfast heart. :)

*Give thanks not just because You know all things will work together for your good and best, but give thanks that God is using your life to fulfill his puspose for his glory and pleasure:)

*words diminish the thoughts of the heart.:)

credit: to MY HUBBY~