1 Thessalonians 5:18
Be thankful,
always

This verse is found in the first letter of Paul to the church in Thessaloniki. In this letter, Paul writes that he was concerned about them, since he knew there was much opposition to their faith (2:14). So Paul was afraid they might have abandoned the faith, and he had sent Timothy to check up on them (3:2). Timothy brought back report that they were doing well in their faith and love, and that they demonstrated love towards all their brothers throughout Macedonia (4:10).

The letter is full of encouragement. The main word for encouraging fellow believers is ‘parakaleo’, and this occurs 8 times in this relatively short letter. Paul is encouraging them to continue their journey of faith, hope, and love. The have to continue on the narrow and difficult road that leads to life, and Paul is encouraging them to do so.

Then near the end, we get our verse above, sandwiched between many other short imperatives. What is Paul telling the Thessalonians to do? They have to give thanks. The word for giving thanks is ‘eucharisteo’, which means “to express gratitude, to be grateful”. What do they have to be grateful for? The Greek says ‘en panti’,  which means ‘in everything’. So in every circumstance, they have to give thanks. No matter how hard the opposition was that faced them, they have to be grateful. Paul also gives the reason that they have to be grateful: it is God’s will for them, in Christ Jesus. “In Christ” typically means ‘in union with Christ’, so in your relationship with Him. If they have an intimate relationship with Jesus, they have to be thankful in every circumstance, because that is what God wants.

God wants us to be thankful in every circumstance as well. We have many things to be thankful for. Due to Jesus’ sacrifice, our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled back to God. We have a relationship with the creator of the universe and can call Him “Father”. We have an eternal life to look forward to. And if we do many good works, then we know that God will reward us for those as well (Matth 16:27, Rev 22:12). Christians that are eager to please God should be huge optimists and be characterized by ongoing thankfulness. Verse 16 in our chapter is one of the shortest verses of the bible, so you can memorize it easily: “Rejoice always”.

And yet, we are not always thankful and we do not always rejoice. When we are faced with challenges, be at work, with our health, in our relationships, in our families, or in our finances, we are so quick to be unthankful. We may get grumpy and are worried. When this happens, we have simply lost perspective. When we set our minds on things here on earth, when our thoughts about our jobs, money, health, or temporary relationships, consume most of our thinking, then we will get down indeed.

When this happens, just start counting and the blessings God gave you in the past, look for His presence in your life and for the things He gave you. Meditate on the blessings He promised to give you into the eternal future. Put things into perspective. Count the small things and the big things. When you truly grasp everything that God has done for us, and will still do for us, then you can do nothing else but rejoice, and be thankful.

Godspeed!