“Giving Thanks Always…”

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 1 Gen 3:21

Notice that God made and clothed Adam and Eve with the coats of skins after they had sinned against Him. What does this teach us? This teaches us that we live by God’s grace and by God’s grace alone. It is not because we deserve His love or that we are any good. No. But God in His great mercy and love “covers” us.

A brother once came to visit at my house and he remarked on how “well” we lived.

“My brother”, he said, “you eat so well, your children dress so well; and you are so contented!”

There were a great many things he did not know were lacking in that house; but I understood him well enough.

I said to him, “My brother, we live by the grace of God. If you were to ask me today how we manage to survive, I really don’t know. But I know that God in His great mercy and compassion provides for us, even to the extent that you see.”

Many of the born-again believers whom I know of are people whom the Lord brought from a very low state of life. Many were people who were way down in nearly every aspect of their lives. In fact, I can hardly think of any Christian whose life has not been changed for the better after committing their lives to Christ. The Lord not only called them into His eternal Kingdom with the promise of eternal life, but He also blessed them even in this earthly life. Their lives have been changed simply because the grace of God is upon them.

Consequently, the Word of God exhorts us to be a thankful people. We should be people who are continually thankful to God for His great mercy and provision towards us.

There is no place for complaining or grumbling in the life of a born-again believer. It displeases God greatly when a Christian complains or grumbles. Even when things are not going well for us, we still have more than enough reason to be thankful to God instead of complaining.

1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

The Bible here clearly states what the will of God towards us is: it is that we should give thanks to Him in everything. Everything! The Bible does not say that we should give thanks in good things. It says to give thanks in everything, whether good or bad. This was what Job did, and it pleased God greatly.

In the final analysis, I believe God wants us to realize and acknowledge that there can really be no bad news for someone who has the hope of eternal life in them. We are a people of the Good News!

We find this fact beautifully stated in Colossians 1:12: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.”

We have been made partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. There are many preachers who teach this scripture with a heavy bearing on the physical and material blessings that God can give to us. But this scripture is talking about the hope of salvation that we have in Christ.

That means that even if we were to live a life of utter want in this world, we still have a larger-than-life reason to be thankful to God for the hope of eternal life that He has granted us in Jesus. In other words, our eyes should not just be on the good life that God gives to us here on earth, but we should focus on that hope, which is the true riches of a born-again believer.

In Hebrews 13:15 it says, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Notice the word ‘continually’ there. It is the will of God that we should be ceaselessly thanking Him.

The Bible tells us how to live a spiritually fulfilling life: “…be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” Ephesians 5:18-21

Many Christians easily forget the great provision of God in their lives and allow themselves to slide into a bitter life of complaining and moaning about this and that. The battle is tough, but God provides the grace to rejoice and thank Him even when circumstances are tough.

The Bible says that God was displeased with the children of Israel for their murmurings in the wilderness, and He destroyed them.

Let us take heed, for everything about God comes with a warning.