Deeper Reflection
I WAS SEVENTEEN AND A ONE-YEAR-OLD CHRISTIAN WHEN I faced my first major trial and was feeling troubled and lost. I looked at the sky and asked God, “God, what shall I do?” God immediately shot into my mind a Bible verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:18. I knew that verse, because I had memorised it. I knew what God was saying to me: “Give thanks.” I went on my knees and did just that. It was a vital discipleship lesson I learned at a very early stage of my Christian life.A Spirit-filled Christian gives thanks to God “in all things” (v.18) and “for all things” and “at all times” (Eph 5:18-20) – big and small, good and bad. But we cannot thank God “for” absolutely “all things”, including blatant evil, because the holy and just God cannot condone evil. We give thanks to God “for all things” that are consistent with God’s character. However, we can give thanks to God “in” everything, even when we suffer evil. In so doing, we are acknowledging, trusting in and submitting to God, who is sovereign over all things. Thanksgiving is Christocentric – “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” and theocentric – “to God, even the Father” (Eph 5:20), “the Father of lights” who gives all good things and perfect gifts (Jas 1:17). Thanksgiving is “to give glory to God” (Lk 17:18).Giving thanks to God “is the will of God” (v.18). So, giving thanks to God puts us at the centre of the will of God – the most secure place that we can ever be in.