Give Thanks to God in Everything
November 20, 2022 · 1:23:37 · Watch on YouTube ↗
These notes - summary, key points, and highlighted thoughts - were generated by AI from the recording and are not the preacher’s exact words.
Summary
As Thanksgiving week approaches, the preacher opens 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "give thanks in everything," and asks a searching question: do we truly thank God for all things, or only when life goes our way? It is easy to praise Him for a blessing we wanted, like the one leper out of ten who turned back to thank Jesus. The harder calling is to give thanks in trouble and in loss.
He walks through Scripture for proof: Paul and Silas sang in the prison, Israel praised God after the Red Sea, the early settlers gave thanks even after a brutal first winter that took half their number, and Job blessed God's name in his grief, declaring, "I know my Redeemer lives." Thanksgiving is not only about harvest and success; the rich fool who built bigger barns enjoyed his plenty but forgot to thank the Giver.
From the feeding of the five thousand, where Jesus said, "go and see how many loaves you have," he urges us to thank God from the little we hold, not only from abundance. Bring your unanswered prayers and unfinished hopes to Him, trust that He may be preparing something better, and keep serving with a grateful heart.
Key Points
- Give thanks to God in everything, not only when life turns out the way we wanted
- Like the one grateful leper, take time to return and thank God for answered prayers and mercies
- Real faith praises God even in hardship, as Paul and Silas did in chains and Israel did at the sea
- With Job we can say "the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away" and "I know my Redeemer lives," even when we do not understand
- Do not be like the rich fool who, surrounded by plenty, forgot the God who gave it
- Thank God from the little you have, the way five loaves and two fish were enough in His hands
- Do not let an unanswered prayer throw you off course; lay it before God and keep serving Him
Devotional
This week, before the table is set and someone asks "what are you thankful for?", let your answer rise to God first. Thank Him for the prayers He answered and the mercies you can count, but also lay before Him the ones still waiting and the hopes that did not come to pass this year. Maybe He is guarding your heart, or preparing something better than you asked. Like the one leper who turned back, take a moment to return and simply say thank You. Whatever He gives or allows, His will is good and His grace is enough.
It is easy to thank God for the blessings that suit us; it is harder to thank Him in the trouble.
Thank God not from how much you have, but even from how little - five loaves were enough in His hands.
Do not let an unanswered prayer throw you off course; bring it to God and keep serving Him.
