Wouldn’t it be great if God just clearly told us what His will is? Like crystal clear, no ambiguity, with absolute certainty?
He does!
Are you ready for it…?
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:18
There are other verses like that, where God makes His will crystal clear – just in the next verse, as a matter of fact, and still more in other parts of the Bible. But I want to park here for today.
God’s will is that we’re thankful. Sure, you’re thinking, that’s super helpful, Krista. NOT! I want to know where I’m supposed to go to college, who I’m supposed to marry, what I’m supposed to do with my life.
Here’s one of the many areas we confuse God with humans. We humans tend to define success by accomplishments — where we go to school, what we do, who we marry. God, however, defines success by whose we are — HIS! We are His children. We don’t have to “do” anything to earn that status. It is a gift given to us at salvation, by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). And His desires for us don’t center around our actions, but our characters.
So why would “thankful” be at the top of His list? Think for a moment about what you think about…how often do you walk around thanking God? Do you make a habit of waking to thank God for another day? Of thanking Him for having food to eat, a place to sleep, clothes to wear? When you open your Bible in the morning, do you thank Him for the freedom to do that? Thank Him for the gift of His word? As you go through your day, do you thank Him for the opportunity to learn? To walk? To breathe freely?
Ooooorrr…are you more like me, and do you wake complaining that the alarm went off too early? That it’s still not Friday yet? That someone ate all your favorite cereal? Etcetera.
Imagine how different our attitudes might be if we focused on being thankful every day. How might it affect our moods? How we treat others? How we view our homes and schools and jobs?
And before you say, “But, Krista, you don’t understand. My family/job/school is awful!” I want to remind you that the man writing this verse had a life that was far more difficult than pretty much any of ours. Paul was imprisoned, beaten, persecuted. If anyone had just cause to complain about circumstances, it was him! And yet, he was filled with joy and thankfulness.
So rather than being filled with anxiety about the “unknowns”, be filled with the “known” of thankfulness. It’s God’s will for you! And when God wills, He equips. So even if you feel like this is impossible, ask God to help you choose thankfulness over complaining. That is a prayer we know He’ll answer!
