Giving Thanks in Any Circumstance

“…giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 5:20)

For the Christian, every day should be Thanksgiving Day. We should be thankful even in the midst of problems. The apostle Paul said, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 7:4). He knew that God was working all things together for his good, even his trials (Rom. 8:28).

Problems will come your way. God will see to it personally that you grow as a Christian. He will allow storms in your life, in order to send your roots deep into the soil of His Word. We also pray more in the midst of problems. It’s been well said that you will see more from your knees than on your tiptoes.

“If you have faith in God, you will be thankful because you know His loving hand is upon you, even though you are in a lion’s den.”

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A man once watched a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon. In an effort to help it, he took a razor blade and carefully slit the edge of the cocoon. The butterfly escaped from its problem… but immediately died. It is God’s way to have the butterfly struggle. It is the struggle that causes its tiny heart to beat fast, sending the life’s blood into its wings.

Trials have their purpose. They make us struggle in the cocoon in which we often find ourselves. It is there that the life’s blood of faith in God helps us spread our wings.

Faith and thanksgiving are close friends. If you have faith in God, you will be thankful because you know His loving hand is upon you, even though you are in a lion’s den. That will give you a deep sense of joy, which is the barometer of the depth of faith you have in God. Let me give you an example. Imagine if I said I’d give one million dollars to everyone who ripped out the last page of this publication and mailed it to me. Of course, you don’t believe I would do that. But imagine if you did, and that you knew 1,000 people who had sent in the page, and every one received their million dollars—no strings attached. More than that, you actually called me, and I assured you personally that I would keep my word. If you believed me, wouldn’t you have joy? If you didn’t believe me—no joy. The amount of joy you have would be a barometer of how much you believed my promise.

We have so much for which to be thankful. God has given us “exceedingly great and precious promises” (2 Pet. 1:4) that are more to be desired than gold. Do yourself a big favor: believe those promises, thank God continually for them, and let your joy be full.

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