God's Clear Will For Us

November 24, 2011

“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I (Thessalonians 5:18)

It is good to be thankful in and for everything because this is what God wants for us – to trust his love and goodness, to thank Him for whatever situation in which we find ourselves. It is God’s will that we not grumble in hard times. Grumbling shows a self-centered absorption – “It is all about me.” Remember the Children of Israel in the wilderness!

We should thank God every day for being born-again into His family, we are now a King’s Kid, Jesus is our elder brother, we are joint heirs with Him and we have a home in heaven. No matter how difficult our lives may be we have everything for which to be thankful.

In his book, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Dr. Paul Brand, a medical doctor, along with Phillip Yancy, said, “Gratitude is the single attitude most nourishing to health.”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The measure of our spirituality is the amount of praise and thanksgiving in our prayers.” I would take that thought a step further – “The measure of our spirituality is the amount of praise and thanksgiving in our daily talking.” Our speech reflects what is in our hearts.

Like Paul, in Acts 22:14, we have been appointed to know and do God’s will and part of His will clearly is that we should give thanks in everything. To a Christian, grumbling is the antithesis of what should be a life of thanksgiving and praise.

To be healthy, spirit, soul and body; to enjoy the presence of the Father in our lives we must give thanks in all things, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.

Thanks To God
August Ludvig Storm

Thanks, O God, for boundless mercy from Your gracious throne above;
Thanks for every need provided from the fullness of Your love.
Thanks for daily toil and labor and for rest when shadows fall.
Thanks for love of friend and neighbor and Your goodness unto all.

Thanks for thorns as well as roses, thanks for weakness and for health.
Thanks for clouds as well as sunshine, thanks for poverty and wealth.
Thanks for pain as well as pleasure - all You send day by day;
And Your Word, our dearest treasure, shedding light upon our way.