Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)
As Paul is wrapping up his second letter to the church at Thessaloniki, he kind of creates this "punch-list" of things Christians should be doing, or at least that's what it seems like. It could be kind of a check-list that we could run through and check off. But the things he lists can't be done in a short time or even a day - these are lifetime practices. Really what Paul is describing is what should be the default setting for every follower of Christ, but Paul makes the list, because he knows (and God knows) we are a work in progress and need to be reminded and encouraged.
In the heart of this punch list, Paul gives what I think is the Big Three - Always be joyful, never stop praying, and give thanks in every situation and circumstance. While I think they go together, it is the last one that Paul says is "the will of God in Christ Jesus for you all." They're all important commands, but Paul spotlights giving thanks as God's express will for our lives.
I'm not sure we value the giving of thanks as God would have us to. As kids, we’re taught that “please,” and “thank you” are magic words— a formula that will compel adults to give us stuff. As an adult who follows Christ, I've treated the giving of thanks as a perfunctory duty, something I generally do before committing the sin of gluttony at the meal table. Even when I would read a "thanksgiving" passage in the Bible, I would just kind of skim over it and not really think about it. I trivialized the word “thanks” so much that it doesn’t stop me when I read it. I don’t think about what it means.
The Bible makes a big deal about giving thanks. The word or concept is mentioned more than 200 times between the Old and New Testaments. There are several words that are used for giving thanks, but the two big ones are "yadah" in the OT and "eucharisteo" in the NT.
Yadah is defined as "Acknowledging what is right about God in praise and thanksgiving" (Baker, Word Study Dictionary). In it's earliest form it meant to "throw or cast" with the hand. It came to mean expressing with words and actions, a deep appreciation for God and His goodness. I love the Hebrew definition of thanks because it is totally tied to who God is. The more we learn about God, the more we should praise and glorify Him.
Eucharisteo means "To show oneself grateful, to be thankful, to give thanks..." (Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary). It is formed from two Greek words - eu (good) and charis (grace), so literally it means expressing "good grace" or we could also say, "thanking God for His good grace."
What both of those words mean is is that giving thanks is not just a thought process or attitude, it is an action - we are to GIVE thanks, express our gratitude toward God, not just for what He does for us, but for who He is to us. Giving thanks not only recognizes God's goodness, but it spotlights His greatness of character and being. He is God and there is no other - give Him thanks and praise!
Take some time to day to express in words, through prayer and maybe even writing, your gratitude to God for who He is and for all He has done for you!
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