Isaiah - Verse By Verse | Walking through Ephesians

Walking through Ephesians - Day 118

versebyverse | March 18, 2008 20:18

Thought: To me, thankfulness is a very deep quality. It has to be if we thank God for "everything"!

Question: Have I thanked God today--even in the midst of problems?

Scripture: Ephesians 5:20 (NIV): "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

(This verse is really a connected extension of verse 19. Our spiritual music is to spring out as thanksgiving at all times. To me, all "good" worship of God is bathed in gratefulness.)

Is everything everything? Apparently so. And note, "always" giving thanks. This blankets our entire life! And it would seem it must be so, or else some events are empty and purposeless. Even heinous sins, whether occurring in me or upon me, must be seen as having purpose. Once we even thank God for, not the sin itself (since all scripture speaks against sin), but for what purpose God must have in mind for its existance, (and I truly believe He has a purpose for sin: God is not a victim of sin but is sovereign over it); then we can bring Him into the very heart of the worst of problems. Once He is thanked, we take Him as having known all along, having allowed it for some reason, and having full ability to bring all out to a productive end, creating a final "work of art", as it were, where even the shadows and dark marks enhance the picture. True gratefulness to God has these trusts hard at work in the heart. If not grateful, we will doubt God's knowledge, doubt His purposes, doubt His ability and power to win, and thus fail in fuller trust of Him.

It's easy to be thankful for all the good things about God and from God, and indeed this scripture, taken in context with the praise spirit of verse 19, seems to be asking us to continually joy in all the greatness and goodness of God. (Notice that thanks is to be directed to The Father. He is The Head Source.) But "everything" has to include all the other less happy and even tragic events we face in life on a regular basis. This is where faith is tested and found to be real or phony.

Just as we are here instructed to thank the Father "in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ", so again, as has been the theme of this book all along, we live our entire Christian life "in Christ", and thus even the ability to thank God "for everything" only is possible through having, knowing and obeying Christ. Christ is The One, The Only One, Who enables us to be grateful, thankful "for everything."

An "attitude of gratitude," as Joni Eareckson calls it, is the demonstration of being full of Christ. We become thankful for what we're learning in the dark hours, and for how we see the ways of God as we never saw them before. A person can rise above the usual bad effects of horrible circumstances with an attitude of thankfulness because the range of sight is into the eternal rather than with just the here and now.

Prayer: Awesome God, I do bow in deep thanksgiving to You. Help me to express gratefulness at every turn because You are truly worthy. Amen.