How to Be Thankful
November 21, 2024 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
The apostle Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We could not receive a clearer statement that God wants us, even commands us, to be thankful. And yet, if we are honest, thankfulness is not natural. Like a child who is forced to say, “Thank you,” we may feel entitled to what we receive or we don’t see the goodness in what we receive. So, how do we fight a lack of gratitude and grow in thankfulness? Let me provide a step by step how-to guide for growing in thankfulness.
- Acknowledge that you do not deserve anything good. This is where the battle must start. Entitlement is the belief that I deserve better. Our culture is saturated with entitlement. In fact, it is embedded in sinful human nature. Is it wrong to desire better? Not necessarily. Is it wrong to believe I deserve better? Yes. Am I too harsh? Let’s allow Scripture to define what we deserve. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Isaiah 64:6 says, “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” And Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” In light of our sinfulness, we don’t deserve anything. This reality leads the psalmist to marvel at God, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
- Recognize that everything you have is a gift. It doesn’t take long to recognize that we all enjoy good things in this life. If we don’t deserve anything good, why do we receive good things? The simple answer is that God is a gracious gift giver. In 1 Corinthians 4:7 Paul makes this point with two rhetorical questions: “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” And James simply states, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (1:17). And God’s gracious gift giving is not limited to people of faith. Jesus explains in Matthew 5:45 that God gives good gifts to all people, “For [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
- Receive that every good gift is blood-bought. Not all grace is saving grace, but all grace is bought by the blood of Christ. Grace is not free. Louis Berkhof says, “The blessings of common grace may be regarded as indirect fruits of the atoning work of Christ.” Common grace covers all of the good gifts that all humans receive. God’s forbearance with sin is a gift purchased by Christ’s sacrifice (see Rom. 3:23-26). It is by God’s grace in Christ that he is patient with sinful people, desiring them to repent (2 Pet. 3:9).
- Let these truths humble you, killing the sense of entitlement. Our sense of entitlement, the belief that I deserve better, slowly dies as we apprehend the first three truths listed here. I deliberately say “slowly dies” because it will be a life-long battle. We continually fall back into an entitlement mentality. We need constant reminders of our sinfulness and our need and God’s graciousness.
- Trust that God is good. This is essential to be able to give thanks “in all circumstances.” If we do not trust that God is good, there will be times in our lives, when circumstances do not appear to be favorable, where we will be given more to grumbling and complaining than to thankfulness. Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” And Romans 8:28 promises, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good.” In the midst of difficult circumstances, we may not see how God is working things for good, but we must trust him and take refuge in him. Without this trust, thankfulness will dwindle.
- Thankfulness grows out of the seedbed of humility and trust. We do not just will ourselves to be grateful. We must be humbled, and we must trust God as good. When these two qualities are growing in our hearts, thankfulness will become a natural response in all circumstances. In other words, we do not grow in thankfulness by focusing on ourselves and the need to be thankful. We grow in thankfulness by focusing our attention on our good and gracious God.
