Habitual Gratitude

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - I Thessalonians 5:18

Being thankful is so important to God that He actually commands us to be thankful. A man in the New Testament by the name of Paul went through a tremendous amount of suffering and heartache that would cause anybody to be bitter and ungrateful and maybe even mad at God. He wrote these words, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:18). 

You may not feel very thankful right now because of where you are in your life. Even though you may not feel thankful you can be thankful. This great man tells us how to be thankful and why to be thankful. And over the next couple of days, we’re going to do a deep dive into his words so that we can learn how we can be more thankful no matter what is going on in our lives.

The first thing we need to do is be habitually thankful. Now, let me give you a word of caution. Nowhere will you find in Scripture where we are commanded to “feel” thankful. Feelings come and feelings go. Feelings can be affected by the weather, by the temperature, by the functioning of your liver, by how much rest you got the night before, or by how the stock market is doing.

Giving thanks has nothing to do with feelings. You can be thankful even if you don’t feel thankful. We are not commanded to “feel grateful.” It doesn’t matter whether things are good or whether things are bad. We are to give thanks no matter what.

Giving thanks is a big deal to God. Paul says we are to give thanks “in all circumstances” not necessarily for all circumstances. We may not be thankful for trouble, but we are to be thankful in the midst of trouble.

Dear Lord, I want to be thankful no matter what my life’s circumstances look like. Please continue to remind me that I can be grateful in every situation because I have you, and everything I need comes from you. In Jesus’ name, amen.