One of the traditions many church people practice around Thanksgiving is, in the words of an old hymn, to “count your blessings, name them one by one.” We name the things for which we are thankful. As a pastor, I was often a part of this reciting of blessings for which we were thankful. My experience of this tradition is the blessings we commonly named fell into one of three categories: our family, our health, our country and the material blessings we enjoy by living here. In all the years of listening to this reciting of blessings, I have no memory of anyone being thankful for how God had worked in their lives the past year or how their lives were different because of that work. In other words, the identified blessings were always material blessings, never spiritual ones.
(This focus on the material says something about us as the followers of Jesus. It stands in marked contrast to what Jesus taught. But that’s the subject of another blog.)
This focus on material blessings raises a question in my mind: what do we do when we no longer have these blessings? What happens when we lose loved ones – a spouse or parent or child or cousin or friend? What happens when we reach the stage of life when health is always a challenge and we are constantly dealing with one issue or another? What happens when our financial resources become limited?
The words of the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians come to mind: “in everything, give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). You will notice that Paul did not command us to give thanks for everything, but in everything. The difference between for and in is significant. Life presents us with any situations we do not welcome – times of challenge, difficulty, heartache, loss, pain, etc. Paul does not ask us to give thanks for these kinds of situations. Rather, he calls us to give thanks in those situations.
The challenge, difficulty, and pain of our situation can blind us to anything but our situation. We become preoccupied with it to the point that it consumes our focus, our attention, our thoughts, our energies. Giving thanks in such situations lifts our attention from the situation back to God. Giving thanks in such situations helps us refocus. It creates within our spirit an openness to God and to God’s work in the situation.
This exhortation about giving thanks is actually one part of a trilogy of exhortations Paul wove together: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Rejoice, pray, give thanks. Each command carries an adjective that communicates continuously - always, without ceasing, in everything. The three are interrelated and intertwined. You can’t have one without the other two. One will always lead to the other two.
In these three commands, Paul in not describing behaviors we are to constantly repeat. Rather, he is describing an inner disposition – an inner attitude and spirit – out of which we as the people of God and the followers of Jesus are to live. We are to live out of a spirit of joy and gratitude that flows out of an openness to God.
To give thanks is to respond with gratitude to God’s grace and goodness. Gratitude flows out of our experience of God’s grace and goodness. We first respond to such grace with thanksgiving to God. But our response does not stop with thanksgiving. The gift we receive flows through us in generosity to others. Gratitude produces generosity. Gift produces giving. The grace of God we receive produces a spirit of generosity expressed in giving to others. As the followers of Jesus, we live with thanksgiving that goes beyond “when life is good.” In everything, give thanks.
The experience of grace that produces a spirit of thanksgiving within us creates an openness to God. Paul’s exhortation to pray without ceasing points to an attitude rather than to an action. We live each day, sharing life with God and attentive to God. We live expecting God to be at work in ways we cannot see and to bless us in whatever comes our way. We live in eager anticipation, open and receptive to receive. As the psalmist said, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6a). “In all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). As the followers of Jesus, we live with an openness to God and an expectancy of God’s blessing. An openness to God is a natural companion to a spirit of thanksgiving.
As a result, we rejoice always. In Philippians 4:4, Paul said “Rejoice in the Lord always.” We rejoice in who God is and in God’s redeeming work. As the followers of Jesus, we live with a spirit of joy because of the steadfast, faithful love of God, because we know God is at work to transform every experience into something good in our lives, because we know God’s love never fails, because God always has the last word. As the followers of Jesus, we live with joy.
“For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18b). Living out of an inner disposition of thanksgiving and joy, coupled with an openness to God’s goodness and grace, is how God wants us to live.
Without this threefold inner disposition, our lives are shaped by the challenges and struggles we encounter. Instead of being thankful for God’s goodness and grace, we become preoccupied with what we think we need and with what we don’t have. We want more – more than what we have. This desire for more (what the Bible calls greed) can never be satisfied. Consequently, we turn to God out of our desire for more, not out of our desire for God. We tell God what to do and what to give us rather than trusting God’s wisdom in giving. We live out of an inner spirit of anxiety and fear, laced with frustration and anger, which is constantly striving after something more.
Living with a spirit of gratitude and joy, consciously open to God and God’s work, keeps us from focusing on and becoming preoccupied with life’s challenges. It prevents us from being consumed by or defeated by what happens to us. As the followers of Jesus, the inner disposition of our lives is shaped by the faithful love of God, not by the challenges and struggles we encounter.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
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