“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” (1 Thess. 5:18).
One of the greatest joys of parenting is the opportunity to structure circumstances in your child’s life that you know will stretch and challenge them to become better, smarter, wiser, stronger, and more emotionally mature. This is possible because, as parents, we see more and know more. We have greater perspective, wisdom, and understanding than our child.
Do children want to be strong? Of course. Do they want to be smart? You bet they do. Do they want to grow up? For sure. Do they like being stretched? Not usually.
But a good parent stretches them anyway, because they wisely know it’s what their child needs to mature. And given enough time, most children come to be thankful for it.
In Matthew 7:11, Jesus says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
As His child, do you ask Him to make you spiritually strong? Do you desire to be a light in your world? Do you pray for wisdom, spiritual maturity, and an ever-growing knowledge of God?
Then expect Him to stretch you.
We ask God to let the light of His love shine through us, so He sends us into the darkness, because He knows the darker our surroundings, the brighter His light shines. And yet, we despise the darkness.
We ask God to strengthen our faith, so He directs our path into the desert where we have to learn to trust His goodness and sovereignty. But then He finds us complaining about how dry and barren the desert is.
We ask God to reveal more of Himself to us, so He allows us to suffer, because He knows that if we are to come to know Him intimately, we must “take up His cross,” (Matt. 16:24). But instead of thanking God for hearing and answering our prayer, we squirm under the heavy burden of our suffering, but are we diligently looking for the good which comes out of the trial of adversity?
God is an all-wise parent. He sees all. He knows all. He understands all (Rom 11:33). And He has ordained “every thing” (1 Thess. 5:18) in the lives of His children for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28). In eternity past, He structured every circumstance that we have experienced, are experiencing, and ever will experience in order to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). Because His will is that we mature spiritually, that we become more holy (1 Thess. 4:3, 1 Peter 1:16).
The question then becomes… how do I respond to my Heavenly Father’s work in me?
Do I complain about the heat of the desert, the weight of the cross, the sheer terror of the darkness? Or do I run to the safety of His open arms, knowing that in His infinite sovereign wisdom, He is controlling and ordaining every single relationship, event, and circumstance in my life? Simeon Ashe, Westminster Divine, said, “Christians are to be persuaded with a conscientious care to improve all God’s favorable providences to promote and better their obedience, according to his purpose and appointment.”
It’s easy to be thankful for the delights of life, but not the difficulties. We can often be found praising and adoring God for the good things in life, but it takes spiritual insight and maturity to be thankful for the dark, dry desert and the pain of the cross.
Why be thankful for the hard stuff? Because “this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” (I Thess. 5:18). God is a good parent who is primarily concerned with the process of our sanctification. He is a loving, attentive Father whose will is that we grow stronger in grace and more mature in our faith. And He uses circumstances to stretch us in accordance with His will.
This Thanksgiving season let us be reminded to come continually with grateful hearts before our wise and loving Father, thanking Him for every thing He does for us, through us, and to us… knowing that whatever it is, it is exactly what He has willed.
“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb. 13:20-21 NASB)
- I should be thankful for all Your blessings, Lord, for the least of them is beyond, yes, even contrary to, what I deserve (Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17; 1 Thess. 5:18 with Gen. 32:10). And help me be especially thankful for those choice spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ (Eph. 1:3; Psalm 103:1-3).
- I must be diligent that in all things I give thanks to You, Lord. Whatever I obtain from You I resolve, with all my heart and with all gladness, to acknowledge Your wonderful providences to me.
- I must be content with my lot – not only when You give mercies but also when You take them away – if I am to give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18). Knowing you ordain everything in my life, in nothing may I be discontent.
- Whatever grace I receive from you through prayer, Lord, and whatever benefit I enjoy from it, I must honor and praise You in return. If I draw near to You in a way of duty, You will be near to me in a way of mercy. May the least drop of Your mercy inflame my heart with true thankfulness and fill my mouth with constant praise so that I press the Lord Jesus and the God of mercy to bestow more mercies. Don’t simply preserve me from evil and those sins that constantly beset me, Lord, but ever enrich me with the blessing of blessings in Christ and all His benefits.
Further References for 1 Thess. 5:18
Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:6; Col. 3:17; Ps. 50:14, 105:1
