Three reasons God commanded us to give thanks in all things:
First, giving thanks in all things expresses faith-faith in the God who knows what He's doing; faith in the God who sovereignly rules in all that happens to us. Isn't that what He wants from us?
Second, He knew we wouldn't do it naturally. Giving thanks in all things means I am no longer walking as a mere man, grumbling and griping, but walking as a spiritual man (see 1 Cor. 2:14,15)-a man who sees God at work...even in the grains of sand that tend to fill my shoes.
Isn't that a little bit of what's wrong with twentieth-century Christianity? Don't we divorce God from the details of daily experience? Don't we ultimately dislike those things that we can't seem to control? Let's be honest, we'd rather gripe, complain and be miserable about circumstances than give thanks.
Finally, God wants to teach us how to deal with the irritating grains of sand so we can get on with climbing the mountains He has for us. All we see are the pebbles, and we think if we could just remove all those pebbles then we could get on with real life. But the pebbles are the real life that God brings us day by day. He wants to use those irritants to instruct us and to see us mature in Christ.
*Extracted from "Moments Together for Couples", a Crosswalk Devotional
First, giving thanks in all things expresses faith-faith in the God who knows what He's doing; faith in the God who sovereignly rules in all that happens to us. Isn't that what He wants from us?
Second, He knew we wouldn't do it naturally. Giving thanks in all things means I am no longer walking as a mere man, grumbling and griping, but walking as a spiritual man (see 1 Cor. 2:14,15)-a man who sees God at work...even in the grains of sand that tend to fill my shoes.
Isn't that a little bit of what's wrong with twentieth-century Christianity? Don't we divorce God from the details of daily experience? Don't we ultimately dislike those things that we can't seem to control? Let's be honest, we'd rather gripe, complain and be miserable about circumstances than give thanks.
Finally, God wants to teach us how to deal with the irritating grains of sand so we can get on with climbing the mountains He has for us. All we see are the pebbles, and we think if we could just remove all those pebbles then we could get on with real life. But the pebbles are the real life that God brings us day by day. He wants to use those irritants to instruct us and to see us mature in Christ.
*Extracted from "Moments Together for Couples", a Crosswalk Devotional
2 comments:
Those are all pretty good reasons that I have also observed recently. Complaining and looking at things negatively is, to be truthful, satisfying - but a sort of very negative satisfaction. It feels good to be negative, to curse things and people when they annoy us or do dumb stuff, but fulfilling those emotions can't be good -- not to yourself, and not to anyone. Giving thanks is a little bit harder to do at the very beginning, just like saying sorry to someone when you know you are wrong, but it gives you a feeling that's ten times better. To be able to love people when they don't like you or curse your name, or spread rumors about you, is a beautiful thing. We can give thanks that God has given us a heart of love, open to anyone and everyone.
About your headline on your blog: I don't think you have to build your character and try to be a better person to be an anything for God. Everything us humans do, what it all really boils down to, is loving God and loving people. Loving people as much like Jesus as we can. We are the ones who give Jesus a name and a face to people who don't know anything about him.
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