"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks. That is what Paul is telling the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. He tells us to give thanks in all circumstances.
If you were stuck under a car, or your best friend just died, Paul isn't telling you to be thankful for the circumstance you are in. You don't have to be thankful that you are stuck under a car, or be thankful that your best friend just died. However, Paul tells us to be thankful in the circumstance. So if you were stuck under a car, you could be thanking God that you are not dead, or thanking him for the people who are lifting the car. If your friend just dies you can be thankful for that time that you were with him/her, or for having such great memories with her.
So God is really saying this, through Paul:
Give thanks while you are in all circumstances. Give thanks for all the things that are happening in your life and turning you into a better person. Give thanks for all of the people in your life. Give thanks for God's mercy and grace. For this is the Lord's will. He wants you to do this. In fact he commands us to do this. He doesn't say,
"Oh, if you feel like it, just give thanks."
No. He specifically tells us to "Give thanks in all circumstances."
It may seem like a lot of work, but if your mind and heart are open in a state of prayer, all the time, you will be thanking God more than you would suspect.
When you do thank God, it will be better for you, and more blessings will come down upon you, because, "This is God's will for you in Chirst Jesus." And As we well know, God's will is never ever to ruin you, hurt you or torture you, but his will is to bless you. We can make it alot easier on ourselves if we quit resisting, and just thank God for everything in this life.
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That's a really good interpretation. It applies to everything going on with us now, too. With everything we're doing to finish up the rest of the year, it starts to seem like a lot. And with graduation coming so soon, it's a little scary. But as you were saying, we need to be thankful for the great experiences, memories, and everything we have learned at Cornerstone. God has allowed us the awesome privelage to come here and be equipped for the rest of our lives.
ReplyDeleteThis also reminds of the end of the school year because we can complain and have a bad additude towords it. Or we can enjoy that its the last week of school and have a wonderfull additude. I wonder if God would be pleased with our additudes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Nate. I also was reminded of the last week of school. We could think, "Well it is our last year and next year we won't be at this school anyways." Or we could have a thankful attitude, and think, "It is the last week for me to show what I think and how smart I am before graduation!" I hope that I will have the thankful attitude along with others. If we all have a grate attitude, summer will be here way to fast for all of us, and school will be fun.
ReplyDeleteNate and Ashley have good references I think that if we have good atitudes than anything we do will be fun and successful. I was incouraged to enjoy life and make it fun by what this verse said. I thought that you interprited this verse vary well and you have a deep understanding of God. I enjoyed the fact that you explained it well and it was thought out not just andomly placed. Is this your favorite verse and why?
ReplyDeleteThis happens to be ONE of my favorite verses. And I definatly think you can use the end of school for an example of this verse. Or you can just use school in general, as an example. I may not like being in school...but I should be thankful, because when I am an adult, I will have a career that I enjoy, and i will not be homeless. Therefore I am thankful for haveing the opportunity to be in school, however, they could make it more appealing.
ReplyDeleteI agree Melle, this verse isn't telling us to be happy that something bad happened to us, but that we should be thankful because hard circumstances bring about perseverence.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great way to look at the verse and dissect it. It is talking about our attitudes and that's probably one of the most important things to work hard at. We should always try to have a great attitude, it makes everything so much more enjoyable. Like with your example even if we don't like the situation we're in you should still have a good attitude there is so much to always be thankful for.
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