“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”…

Sometimes these are the last words we WANT to hear… but really NEED to hear, especially as some situations may not be going our way or they take us by surprise; circumstances that make us inclined to feel we’re having a raw deal and our life just isn’t fair; and above all, why is God allowing all this to take place… does He really care?

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

In some circumstances, thanking God is the last thing we want to do. Paul includes everything here. He doesn’t just say some – but ALL in EVERYTHING. Someone may be saying, “If only Paul knew what I’m going through, he would have changed his tone a little.” Of course he wouldn’t. If any man went through frequent hardships, heartaches, losses and unjust treatment, it was Paul. Have a good read of all that he went though. Yet, he learned to give thanks to God in ALL that he went through; he had LEARNED to be CONTENT. Philippians 4:11-12, “…for I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In ANY and EVERY circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” WHATEVER situation, in ANY and EVERY circumstance Paul gave thanks. Wow, that’s pretty big, Paul! And we’re inclined to think that such testing and challenges are confined to folks like the apostle Paul, or some other spiritual giant or leader, and when life takes an unusual turn for us, we fall apart wondering what on earth has hit us.

Paul was well aware of the hardships of the Christians he was writing to and he did comfort them, but he NEVER pampered and ministered to their self-pity, but exhorted them to give thanks unto God in all their circumstances. If Paul had given into their whining and ‘poor me’ syndromes, he would have stunted their spiritual growth and brought God’s judgment upon himself as an apostle and minister.

BY WHY GIVE THANKS EVEN IN THE BAD CIRCUMSTANCES?

I won’t talk about how easy it is to thank and praise God when everything is going our way; some folk don’t even bother to thank God even then. But why, how do we get around the concept of thanking God in these strange and painful circumstances we’re in? Are we to love pain and even beg for it and therefore cannot function unless we have it? We’re odd and strange people if we do.

“…give thanks in all circumstances; FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS FOR YOU…”

God’s will is active in our lives. His will is taking place in and through our lives. We were vessels of God’s wrath and now we’re vessels of His mercy and goodness.

This is what we WERE…

• We were enemies of God (Romans 5:10)

• We were slaves of sin which brought death (Romans 6:20-21)

• We were children of wrath and dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:3)

• We were in darkness (Ephesians 5:8)

• We were alienated from God and hostile towards God (Colossians 1:21)

• We were spiritually dead in our sins (Colossians 2:13)

• We were awaiting God’s judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

This is what we HAVE BECOME…

• We have been justified in the sight of God and saved from his wrath (Romans 5:9)

• We have been cleansed of the record of our debt, trespasses and sins which have been nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:13,14)

• We have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:11)

• We have been made righteousness because of Christ’s perfect obedience (Romans 5:19)

• We have been given the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23)

• We have become children of God (Romans 8:16)

• We have become heirs of God (Romans 8:17)

• We have been set free (Galatians 5:1)

• We have been made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)

• We have been raised up with Christ and are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6)

• We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)

• We have the promise of our future glorification (Romans 8:30)

In our main verse, I Thessalonians 5:18, we notice the words IN Christ Jesus. Paul makes a deliberate distinction; this only applies for those who are presently in Christ. Have we been called in Christ? Have we been drawn to Him? Have we responded to His effective call on our lives? Are we known by Him? Do we know that we are His? It’s all of grace; none of us stand worthy of this and as the promise states, “Whoever comes to Me, I will never cast away” is open for any who desire to come to Him no matter what race, background, no matter how one has lived their life, whether as failures or successes, the good news is we’ve all fallen short in God’s eyes. Not ONE of us can stand and boast and feel right on our own accord in God’s sight.

We ALL suffer hardship at some point in time, Christian and non-Christian alike:

For those OUTSIDE OF CHRIST, suffering profits nothing in this world’s chaos; there is no meaning to it except loss.

For those IN CHRIST, encountering severe difficulties can only bring about purpose; nothing is wasted in God’s economy. As Romans 8:28 states, “ALL things WORK TOGETHER…” again, not some, but ALL. And in context of this chapter, Paul speaks of the testing, trials and moments of darkness which God perfectly works together; what seems like chaos to us is actually God bringing order to a disordered realm disillusioning us, into a state of reality – HIS reality.

James 1:2 states, “Count it all joy… when you meet trials of various kinds…” But I’m glad that we also have the other part of this truth – scripture making up the whole, scripture interpreting scripture – Hebrews 12:11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant…”, this really sets the balance in all our difficulties and in verse 7, “It is for discipline that you have to endure…GOD IS TREATING YOU AS SONS.”

These peculiar times, whatever they may be – illness, unemployment, financial debt, loneliness, singleness, divorce, death of a close friend or close family member, injustice from others, and situations that just do not make sense, these ambiguous circumstances in which we want to quit and bang our heads up against the wall in absolute frustration, where there seems to be no way forward or any way out – just like Peter says, “For a little while, if necessary, you have been GRIEVED by various trials…” proves our adoption as children of God – sons and daughters of God. Be concerned if your life is constant, plain and easy sailing. Question your foundations if you are exempt from trying seasons and there is no opposition in your spiritual walk.

“Blessed is the man whom You discipline, O Lord…” Psalm 94:12. Not only does all this prove our son-ship, but it reinforces the truth that “…He who begun a good work in you will bring it to completion.” (Philippians 1:6) And as Peter says, these trials test our GENUINE faith in order that our faith, “…may be found in praise, glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:7) And in James 1:3-4, “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing…” And as the writer to the Hebrews states (Chapter 12, verse 11) “…later it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” And the purpose of it in verse 10, “…but He disciplines us for our good that we may share His holiness.” These are part of the promises, “These precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature…” (2 Peter 1:4) and “…to be conformed to the image of His Son.” (Romans 8:29)

These are the core and primary issues of God’s will for our lives. As Paul states explicitly, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). God has saved us to perfect us; and God as our Father is fulfilling the great High Priestly prayer in John 17: 16-17, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” Why? As verse 24 reveals, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that you have given me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world”…to be with Him and enjoy His glory for eternity. Without holiness, NO man shall see the Lord!

We often tend to think of God’s will as being across seas doing mission work, in pastoral ministry, or some other vocation to be fulfilled years down the line. But Oswald Chambers was right when he said, “The will of God is NOW!” We can be so self-orientated when we think of God’s will and narrow it down to “our” vocation. This is a worldly mentality that Paul warns against in Romans 12 but exhorts us to be renewed in our minds in order to rightly discern God’s will in its entirety for our lives.

The trouble with many of us is that we do not think enough upon what God has saved us from. We don’t give enough time to meditate upon the depths and cost of our salvation and the reason as to why He saved us – to be a people unto Himself and to proclaim His excellencies (1 Peter 2:9-10). We soon forget that we were enemies of God, deserving nothing but His righteous wrath and eternal punishment. But the glorious news is that we’re saved in Christ and that debt has been wiped out and in turn we’ve become heirs of God. THINK on that for a moment… just stop and think about that. The four “Rs”: Ransomed, Reconciled, Restored, Reborn unto eternal life. We have MORE than enough to thank God for – for a thousand eternities – yet He gives more! “He who did not spare His own son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not ALSO with Him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

I’m sure many of us can say with David, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)

God’s will is active at this very moment in our lives, His will to perform, His plans that give a future and real hope and that no weapon of our enemy shall prevent that from taking place; for if God is for us then who really can be against us? We may be brought to trial, but God will not leave us or abandon us to be condemned, crushed or defeated; He will fight our cause and through our multiple afflictions, we have His sure promise to be delivered out of them ALL. Through it all God is burning in our hearts the reckoning of this truth that in ALL these things we are more than conquerors through Him who eternally loves us.

What brings us down? What mountain stands in our way? An unknown future? A bleak, dark future? The crumbling of our government? A global financial crisis? How are we going to survive? Of course the future of this world is bleak, dark and unstable – it always has been and we’re foolish to think otherwise especially as Christians. We will only feel the pinch if we’re too settled and comfortable in this world. As Christians, we’re passing through it and God will allow trials and heartache only to wake us up to the realization that our one and only hope and security is in Him alone; it’s not in any institution, organization, government, other power, and not in any person to include ourselves – but in our God alone.

Why are we anxious? Luke 12:22-31 must bring us back in line: “And He said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

If we would only realize and believe what His word says, most of our problems would vanish; most of our mountains would melt like wax. “O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH… YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS >>EXACTLY<< Are we so spiritually narrow minded that we limit ourselves to the material, as if all hangs from that? No wonder Paul says to “Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above; not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2) I quoted Leonard Ravenhill a few weeks ago at a meeting, “I hear so many say, “You can be so heavenly minded, you’re no earthly use.” I’ve got one thing to add to that, “You can be so earthly minded, you’re no heavenly use!”

There are some Christians who are being knocked and labeled by other Christians as being ‘holier than thou’. I want to say something to those that face such accusations: keep your eye on God and keep aiming to please Him, let others say what they want because at the end of our lives here on this earth we ALL have to stand before God and give an account of how we lived, every moment of it; other folk’s opinions won’t matter then, so we’d better start getting used to it now!

Let us make it a regular practice of allowing our perspective to become more eternity orientated rather than just getting sucked up with the pattern and ways of this world. We are to seek God’s interests first; He’s far more than able to take care of us; nothing is too big or impossible for Him. Do we love ourselves too much to implicitly trust Him?

Are we thanking and worshiping Him for choosing us in Christ? And, are we thanking Him that His will is working out in our lives, no matter how hard it is at present? Can we sincerely thank Him for His ways that are perfect, that He could do it no other way, could not improve in His dealings with us, no matter what seems cruel to us at the moment? Paul’s perspective, which is the biblical perspective, is revealed in these words in relation to our difficult times, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) and “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)

“God’s righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” (Psalm 97:2) His perfect ways can be trusted even though at present they do not make sense to us; there is NO One better to turn to, to guide and direct our paths. Oh the mercy of God to include us in His will; His great patience in dealing with us and understanding our frailty. Job couldn’t understand the mystery – the hidden purposes behind his circumstances – but eventually his eyes were opened, “Now my eye sees you…” Oh may we not misinterpret God and be quick to judge Him through our feeble understanding, but rather thank Him that His purposes continue to ripen in our lives. He is worthy ALWAYS of our thanksgiving and praise!

God Moves In A Mysterious Way
Hymn by William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

“…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you…”