in EVERYTHING give thanks

Well.....this is the first time I have ever posted on here, but I read a devotion this morning from a friend who is on a year long mission trip to Paris. He writes a devotion every week and emails it out and I thought this one was perfect for Thanksgiving Day. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.


“…in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. “1 Thessalonians 5:18

When you are studying a new language, you begin to notice every single word that you try to say. With me, I have begun to think more in terms of ideas with English and French words popping into my head here and there thus making me all mixed up. However, this does make one think more about language and the process of communication, and this served me well when I approached this verse.There is one little word in this verse that can sneak by you if you don’t pay attention. It is not a short word, but it can be overlooked. It is this word “everything.” Christians are supposed to give thanks. Of course! We should definitely give thanks. That should go without saying. God has given us so much, we should definitely give thanks. In fact, we have an entire holiday set up to do this called Thanksgiving…Stop. I left out the word. The period should not come after “Christians are supposed to give thanks.” The sentence ought to read, “Christians are supposed to give thanks in everything.” That changes it. That makes it much more radical, much more bold. This changed Thanksgiving from something everyone can do to something that only a Christian can do.This is an intense verse because of what the word “everything” means. There is never a thing that is not included in everything. Things happen to you. Sometimes we call those things good. Sometimes we call those things bad. Regardless of what we call them, we are to give thanks to God for those things, because those things are included under the heading of “everything.”You have had a bad week. Give thanks. Your week has been the best you have ever had. Give thanks. You have a huge family to celebrate Thanksgiving with. Give thanks. You will celebrate Thanksgiving alone. Give thanks. You have enough food to feed an army this week. Give thanks. You go to bed hungry on Thanksgiving. Give thanks. Give thanks in all things, in everything. Why? Because you can know that in all things, God is working for the good of those who love him.Thanksgiving is an exercise in trusting God. It is an opportunity to do something the world cannot do. It is an opportunity to give thanks in everything. No evil force can overpower you when you thank God for what He will do with the worst it can do. Such a person could only be hoping in the eternal. This Thanksgiving, don’t forget to name the hard times you have had this past year, and thank God for them.