In Everything Give Thanks: A Command, Not a Suggestion

 “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  

— 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)

We live in a complaining culture. Social media feeds are filled with grievances, news cycles thrive on outrage, and even many Christians find it easier to grumble than to give thanks when life gets hard. Yet the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, issues a crystal-clear, non-negotiable command: in everything give thanks.

Notice the little word “in.” Not “for” everything (though sometimes we can get there by grace), but **in** everything. In the diagnosis and in the healing. In the layoff and in the provision. In the prodigal’s rebellion and in the homecoming. In the coffin and in the empty tomb.

This is not positive thinking. This is not “fake it till you make it.” This is the revealed will of God for every born-again believer. If you have ever wondered, “Lord, what is Your will for my life?”—here is one thing you never have to pray about again. God’s will is that you give thanks in everything.

 The Bible Will Not Let Us Lower the Standard

Scripture refuses to limit thanksgiving to pleasant circumstances:

- Job, covered in boils and bankrupt of everything but sorrow, fell down and worshipped: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

- Daniel, staring down a den of lions for the “crime” of praying, went home and gave thanks exactly as he had done before (Daniel 6:10).

- Habakkuk looked at total economic collapse and invading armies and declared, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18).

- Paul and Silas, backs bleeding and feet in stocks in a Philippian jail, prayed and sang hymns at midnight (Acts 16:25).

These men were not thankful for suffering, but they were thankful in it—because they knew their God reigned over it.

 Why Thanksgiving in Trials Is Possible for the Child of God


1. God is sovereign. Not one tear falls without His permission, and not one trial comes without His purpose (Romans 8:28).

2. Christ has already won the ultimate victory. The worst thing that could ever happen to us (eternal separation from God) has been cancelled at the cross.

3. Every hardship is producing something eternal. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

4. The Holy Spirit inside us enables supernatural responses. Complaining is natural. Thanksgiving in the furnace is evidence that the Spirit of God lives in you.

How to Cultivate a Life of Thanksgiving When You Don’t Feel Thankful


1. Obey first, feel later. Thankfulness is a command before it is a feeling. Open your mouth and thank God by faith. The heart follows the obedient will.

2. Preach Romans 8:28 to yourself daily. “This too is working together for my good and His glory.”

3. Pray with thanksgiving even while you pour out your requests (Philippians 4:6). Never let a prayer meeting become a gripe session.

4. Make your home and church a no-murmuring zone. A complaining spirit is contagious; so is a thankful one.

5. Start and end every day naming specific blessings. David said, “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1).

The Watching World Needs to See This

Unbelievers expect Christians to fall apart when life falls apart. Imagine their shock when they see us praising God on the cancer ward, rejoicing after the funeral, and thanking the Lord in the unemployment line. That kind of counter-cultural thanksgiving is a megaphone proclaiming, “Jesus is enough!”

So here is the challenge, dear reader: Whatever you are facing right now—this very hour—stop and thank God **in** it. Not because it feels good. Not because it makes sense. But because your Bible says, “This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

May our lves become one long amen to the goodness of our God, even when the road is steep and the night is dark.

In everything give thanks.

And when e do, the world will know we serve a God who is worthy of it.

Soli Deo Gloria.


DMMC 

11-22-25

Location: Peru, IN 46970, USA

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