Our heavenly Father deserves our eternal praise. We can all admit that He has been beyond good to us. However, man has picked one day out of the year to focus on the act of being thankful, and it is called ‘Thanksgiving’. This day was once held sacred, and it was used to celebrate thankfulness to God for His unending goodness. Now, it has been tarnished. The world is so consumed with selfishness that even before the clock strikes twelve, we are bombarded with Black Friday sales and promotions; all aimed to get us out of the mind and heart of gratitude to Heavenly Father, and focused on other things.
God provided correction to the Church of Thessalonica through the Apostle Paul. Although this church was doing a lot of right things, error and confusion had crept into the way that they functioned, causing them to lose track when it comes to the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1Thessalonians 5:14–18(NLT), The scriptures state,"14Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
This passage is an instruction to us as well. It tells us how monumentally important it is to be grateful to our Lord. The first thing that God does is to use the scalpel to do a little surgery on our hearts. When our hearts have intentions that are not anchored in the love of Jesus Christ, we will stay stuck in our old ways. We will remain lazy, and not quick to help others when they need it. There are those in our midst that might be shy and bashful because no one has ever given them validation. No one has ever encouraged them in their gifts and talents, so they don’t feel as though they have anything to offer. God wants those of us that are more mature to encourage these individuals that may be stuck, unproductive, and timid, so that they can be active in the Holy Spirit.
He tells us to take care of people we know that are weak, and to be patient with everyone. In the Church of Thessalonica, people were becoming high-minded, getting caught up with thinking themselves above others. God reminded them that the work of Jesus Christ is to be tender and patient with those that are not strong, and to be a blessing to them.
Another error that God addresses in 1Thessalonians 5:15 is a heart of vengeance. This one is a big one for many people today, because many of us feel compelled to strike back when someone strikes at us. Our Heavenly Father tells us that this is not the way of Jesus Christ. When someone does evil to you, it is not your place to return their evil with evil. Vengeance belongs to God. We are His children, and our lives are in His hands. He will protect us; therefore, we need to trust in Him to fight our battles and protect us from all harm.
In verses 14 through 15, God tells us what to do in order to remove the dead layers that keep our hearts from loving the way that Jesus Christ loves. Then, in 1Thessalonians 5:16-18, He administers the medicine. In the first dose, He tells us to always be joyful. This is not a suggestion, but a direct commandment from God. He has told us to BE JOYFUL! This means that you and I are not to allow the devil any room to get in. God has given us authority over our circumstances and emotions through Jesus Christ. We should not allow our conditions or situations to sway our faith in God; not ever. We must always remain joyful and prayerful because these are the things that honor Heavenly Father. It’s not about us and what we have going on. It’s about Him and the wonder workings of His infinite power. Because of Him, we can have joy, because He will never leave or forsake us. He is always with us, and always willing and able to help us.
The second dose very powerful as well. He tells us to NEVER STOP PRAYING! This is the way we should live, in constant communication with God through Jesus Christ. God knows that we have other commitments, but He is instructing us that we must establish a habit pattern where prayer is a priority. Yes, we have to work or attend college or school, we have obligations to our family, friends, and others, but nothing should be higher on our priority list than making quality and quiet time to spend with God.
The third and arguably the most potent dose is to BE THANKFUL in all circumstances! This is huge. Thanksgiving should be a daily practice, certainly not held to one day a year. If we do not maintain our joy in the Lord, pray always, and have a thankful heart and mind, we stifle the Holy Spirit. In contrast, having a joyful heart and mind that is full of thankfulness and continually in prayer creates an environment where the Holy Spirit can thrive and be active in us.
Some of us might question how we can remain joyful and faith-filled throughout our daily struggles, but we must know that God has created us to do so. He has provided all that we need to walk in strength, love, and power through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must submit ourselves to God and commit to doing these things, and not to worry about the problems and situations that come with life.
We have to know that as Christians, we have a responsibility to concentrate on what we can give and do to be a blessing, rather than focusing on mistakes of the past, people that have hurt us in some way, and on things that we may not have in our possession. Our thanksgiving is the greatest thing that we can give our God.
He is all-powerful, if He wanted to, He could make rocks cry out praises to Him, but instead He chose us. He purchased us for a price through Christ. We do not belong to ourselves, we belong to Him. He did it because He wanted to have a relationship with us, so that we could commune and have fellowship with Him. This is our purpose and our mission. So every moment of every day, let us have a heart and mind that continually conveys how much we love and thank the Lord for all that He is, and all that He has done for us. Make every day a thankful one.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Lord, We Thank You!” written by V. J. Mack for Blessing Bead and More.