Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
In everything, give thanks. We don’t give thanks FOR everything. We give thanks IN everything.
So, in other words, I don’t give thanks FOR setbacks and unfortunate incidents. I give thanks IN setbacks and unfortunate incidents.
If I’m not giving thanks for the setbacks, what am I giving thanks for? I propose that we’re giving thanks for what holds true, ‘in everything’…
…and what IS true, in everything? Well, for those of us in the body of Christ, there’s a LOT that’s true!
There’s our absolute salvation in and through the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
There’s our being totally dead to sin and free from death.
There’s our being fully alive to righteousness unto eternal life.
There’s the opportunity to run to the throne of grace in our time of need.
There’s the consequent peace that surpasses all understanding which reigns in our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
And this is to name just a few things, from the many promises found in Scripture that are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’ in Christ Jesus!
There’s a lot that remains absolutely true for us, and, indeed, there’s a lot for us to give thanks for.. again, IN everything.
So I give thanks to God. I give thanks to Him, in everything that’s being done against me, or to me, I give thanks for all that Christ has done for me.
I give thanks to God, in all the changes to my thinking, in all the painful lessons I’m learning, and in how it impacts me. I give thanks, because through all of this I see even more perspectives to how Christ’s finished work has absolutely transformed me.
I give thanks to God, in all my regrets, and in all my lost opportunities. I give thanks to God, in the wrong split second decisions, and in all the unfavorable results that come up even in my meticulous planning… I give thanks to God, because all of this lost opportunity causes me to seek my Father, and to run to His throne of grace.
I give thanks to God, in all I’ve lost, and in all I’ve wasted and squandered. I give Him thanks, because the Holy Spirit is quick to comfort me, and even quicker to remind me of the infinite things that I do have in Christ, which infinitely outshine all the finite things that I cry over.
I give thanks in the failure of the finite, for it allows me to see the greatness and the graciousness of our infinite Father.
I am so thankful, Father! I’m thankful for Your word, and Your promises which come to life through the living Word, no less than our Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
Thank You, Father! For in all I’m experiencing, and in all I’m suffering and going through right now, whether it be of my own doing or if it’s being done against me, it’s Your promises that I hold on to, and it’s You that I remember and run to!
Thank You, Jesus! For because of all You’ve done for me, I see and experience Your Holy Spirit truly convicting me, much more so in times of discouragement and low morale. Thank You!
And, when there’s nothing left to say, or when nothing else comes to mind… still, thank You, Father.
Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Holy Spirit.
You are present in the silence. You are present in the stillness. You are present when the mind is uneasy, when the mind is empty.
You are present in the darkness. You are present in all that we see, and in all we fail to see. You are present in all we have in mind, and in all we have yet to realize. You are present, whether we are secure in the unknown, or anxious by what we do know.
You never leave us. You never forsake us.
Thank You, Father.
May the will of the Lord be done, in all that I am struggling with, and in all I have trouble letting go of. May the will of the Lord be done, in all that I’ve desired, and in all the opportunities I’ve ignored, and in all that I’ve blown.
May the will of the Lord be done, in spite of my current propensity to error, and consequently, may His will be done when I’m at peace with my mistakes, and when I’m overthinking the cause and consequence of my actions.
I am thankful to the Lord for being with me through it all, and lest I forget, I am thankful also, that this God, whom I call Father, is for me and not against me; therefore, I am not only with Him, just as much as He is with me, but I am also as much in His will, as much as His will is in me.
It’s been so many months since the beginning of this year, since I made so many claims, most of which I forgot. But I am thankful still, because His will has and will continue to be done – all I have left to do with regarding to His will is to give thanks, as I am in Christ Jesus.
It’s seemed like so long since last Monday, and since then not a day goes by when I learn of great distress happening – if not against me, against a friend, against a family member; if none of these things, perhaps a tragedy happening elsewhere… but I AM thankful still, because His will continues to be done, in spite of all that would discourage us.
You never leave us. You never forsake us.
Thank You, Father.
When we find ourselves in anguish over regrets, or when we feel so bad from not taking a hint, or not giving chances… when we keep condemning ourselves for how we blew it, and how we made decisions we think are wrong, when we only see the consequences of our wrong decisions after we make them… well, let’s take all of this regret and condemnation, and lift all of it up in gratitude.
Let us give thanks to God, for through Christ’s finished work and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are with Him, and He is with us in our regret, in our condemnation. Let us give thanks in humility, and in humility, let us yield to His will.
Let us take some time to acknowledge that He knows so much more than we could ever know about each and every situation we find ourselves in, and, surely, He also knows all the details regarding what we find ourselves deep in regret over.
I’ll admit that at first it may sound like mind conditioning, and if we’re really honest, we really do need to keep debugging our hearts and minds, reprogramming our beings to conform to our being new creations existing with infinity as our reality.
Gosh, I sound insane right now, but that’s what it feels like. We may very well be one of those ‘men who have turned the world upside down’, as the jealous Jews called the devout Gentiles in Acts 17.
If any of this is lost on you… give thanks. There’s always a reason, and a cause to give thanks. You will always have more reasons to give thanks, than to complain.
It’s in God’s will for you to give thanks in everything. You couldn’t go wrong.
I thank God for you.
ClaudeAI insists on the following conclusion to wrap up my rambling this evening:
As we navigate life’s challenges, from setbacks to regrets, may we remember that giving thanks IN all circumstances is not just a commandment, but a transformative practice.
It aligns our hearts with God’s will, reminds us of His constant presence, and helps us see beyond our limited perspective.
Whether in joy or sorrow, success or failure, let us cultivate a spirit of gratitude, knowing that in doing so, we’re fulfilling God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.
In this practice, we may indeed find ourselves turning the world upside down, as we live out the radical reality of our new creation in Christ.
Can’t say I disagree with what this AI put together.
Anyway, thank you for making it this far. I’m making headway to getting back, out of the red and back into black, not just in my writing, but in my capital, and in other things.
Thank You, Lord. You are everything in everything.
Until the next post, may our good Father continue to bless us all.
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JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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