OCTOBER 22, 2012
Give
Thanks
Read: 1 Thessalonians
5:16-22
In everything give thanks; for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus for you.
—1 Thessalonians 5:18
In
Lansing, Michigan, during the winter, we don’t get many sunny days.
But last
year God blessed us with one of those beautiful days, and it
seemed that almost
everyone was thanking God, except me. As I left
my office, a man said, “What a
wonderful day we’re having. This is a
gift from God!” To which I replied, “Yes,
but we’re getting snow later
this week.” What ingratitude!
In
his letters, the apostle Paul helped his readers to develop a theology
of
gratitude. He wrote about thanksgiving more often than any other
New Testament
author. From the 23 times he used the word, we learn
a few lessons about
thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving
was always directed toward God and never toward people.
People were gifts from
God, and Paul thanked God for their growth, love,
and faith (1 Cor. 1:4; 1
Thess. 1:2).
Thanksgiving
is given through Jesus for everything (Col. 3:15,17). Paul
believed followers
of Jesus could be thankful for everything because God
is sovereign, and He is
working things out for the believers’ good
(1 Thess. 5:18).
May
we intentionally be aware of God’s gifts all around us, and respond
with gratitude.
In response to God’s gifts, it’s natural to say, “Thank You,
Lord.”
Lord, for days that are sunny or gray we simply
want to say, Thank You! And for the daily grace
You give us in Your Son, may we always be faithful
to say, Thank You! You are so good to us.
Gratitude is a natural response to God’s grace.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
