Eternal Thanksgiving - November 22 Readings: Colossians 3:15

 

Give Thanks to God


Today's Reading: Colossians 3:15    Ephesians 5:20  1 Thessalonians 5:18        

Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.
Ephesians 5:20 - giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 - Give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Through the Bible Readings: Daniel 1-2, Hebrews 12:18–13:19, Psalm 129, Proverbs28:20–21 

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Devotional: Eternal Thanksgiving    


Count your blessings, name them one by one. When November rolls around, we give thanks for all the good things in our lives, as we should. We are grateful for health (this year, especially!), for family and friends, for our church family - our gratitude sharpened by the difficulties of social distancing and loneliness. We are thankful for our nation, with all of its problems. It is right and good that we would be like the one leper who returned to thank Jesus for his healing, not like the nine who went on their way without expressing gratitude. 

What do you do, though, when things are not going so well; when your world is falling apart? What if you hate your job or lose it? What if you get that diagnosis you dreaded so much, or someone you love is sick and not getting better? How about when your marriage is circling the drain or your family is falling apart - is being thankful possible even then?

The Bible gives us three mind-blowing verses about gratitude. In Ephesians 5:20, Paul talks about, “…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When do you give thanks? Always. For what should you give thanks? Everything. (Don't look at me like that! I just told you what the Bible said!) 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” God's will is that in every circumstance of your life - good and bad, you be thankful. Finally, our key verse today says, simply, "Be thankful." No conditions Live your life in a constant state of thanksgiving.

How on earth do we do that? We are not called to deny reality or ignore our sufferings. It is not even about balancing the good and the bad. "I have some hard times but I have some good times too." What about Job? When he sat on the ash heap even Tony Robbins couldn't have gotten him pumped up. It is not about thinking, "there is someone who has it worse than I do." So what? God doesn't want us comparing our lives to other people. For each of us, pain is real and it hurts. God doesn't ask us to give thanks by ignoring that or pretending we are not suffering.

Our thanksgiving is Christ-active. We give thanks by focusing on the eternal and the unseen. Even in Job's darkest moment he could say, "I know my redeemer lives." You can walk in joy today if you remember that God is in heaven and he loves you. Whatever is going on in this world, he is still at work accomplishing his will in you and conforming you to Christ. He will never leave you or forsake you and he will sustain you. At the root of it all, not matter what is going on in this world, we are recipients of the infinite and undeserved love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Thanksgiving is not an emotion, but an act. It is intentionally focusing on the goodness and grace of God and giving him the glory and praise he deserves in spite of what is happening in this world. We must train our minds and hearts on eternal realities - the love of God, his sovereign power and holiness, our future rest in glory - to sustain us in these difficult days.

And remember this. No matter what happens in this world, the central reality of your life is two symbols. There is a cross that symbolizes that your sins have been paid for. The Bible says that God has separated you from your sins as far as the east is from the west, has buried them in the deepest ocean, and will remember them no more. There is no condemnation!  Yes, my friend, you can give thanks now!

There is another symbol of our faith - an empty tomb. Jesus rose the victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign! Hallelujah, Christ arose! Everything that is troubling you today has an expiration date on it, but Jesus is, and you are eternal (if you know him). Your sickness will come to an end (here or in eternity). Your temptation will be done one day. One day, there will be no more money troubles, no sorrow or grief or pain. There will only be Jesus and joy and eternal worship!

So, yes, give thanks. In times of joy, give thanks. But in times of pain, we still have these two symbols, the cross and an empty tomb to give us joy. So give thanks.

Father, I thank you that you washed away my sins in the blood of Christ and conquered everything that troubles me in through the resurrected Lord Jesus. Praise your holy name!

Giving Thanks:

What characteristics of God do you see here for which you can give thanks? 
What has God done for you for which you can give thanks? 
Do you give thanks in everything? For everything? In Christ? 


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