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What could be more disastrous for a fourth grade boy than to be forced to wear glasses? And yet one little boy with new spectacles was still thankful to God.
His teacher asked him why.
“Because it keeps the boys from hitting me and the girls from kissing me.” I think that young man is going to do very well in life.
It is amazing, if we think about it, what we can be thankful for. The word “thanks” comes from the word “think.” It is very often the case that we are not more thankful because we are not more “thinkful.” If we would but ponder the many ways in which we are blessed, we would be more thankful. That is certainly true of our fourth grade friend.
The Bible tells us: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV). This text doesn’t say “for everything” give thanks. Instead, it’s “In everything give thanks,” which makes it a lot easier, doesn’t it? We can probably think of something for which to be thankful in most every circumstance, and so we should.
Yet there are 139 other texts on thankfulness in the Bible. In Ephesians 5:20 Paul puts it a little bit differently. He tells believers to be “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NKJV).
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This verse causes all of us some difficulty. How and why should we be giving God thanks for all things? I have struggled with that a good bit in my life. For one who is in rather severe pain most all of the time, I want you to know that learning to give thanks for that is not easy. I have done it. I have often prayed about the sincerity of that prayer and trust that God will help me in that area. How can we give thanks to God even for bad things that happen in our lives? One way to do it is to recognize that God is sovereign. He is the sovereign Lord. As Romans 8:28 reminds us, He works all things together for our good. So for even this bad thing, we have His promise that He is somehow going to turn it to our good. We can be thankful for that fact.
Also, we know that God allows things to happen to us for the sake of other people. We go through illnesses, trials, and tribulations in order that we may be able to comfort others who are going through the same kind of things.
One further point is that none of us really suffer as much as we ought. The Bible teaches that all of us have sinned, we are all guilty, we are condemned already, and we belong in Hell. The very fact that we are not there, and by God’s grace are not going there (if we have trusted in Christ for our eternal salvation) allows us to be thankful even for things that are painful in this life. So in all things, and even for all things, we are to give thanks.
Finally, let me ask you the question posed by Scripture: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (I Corinthians 4:7 NKJV). Are you strong? Where did you get the strength? Are you intelligent? When did you create your mind? Are you talented? Who gave you the talent? What have you that you did not receive? Therefore, what do we have that we should not be grateful for?
How wonderful God is. There is so much for which we can be grateful to God. How innumerable are the goodnesses of God.
Would you please your heavenly Father? Then be a grateful child.
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D. James Kennedy, Ph.D., is senior minister of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, and president of Coral Ridge Ministries, an international Christian broadcast outreach
