Two very important prepositional phrases of giving thanks to God, we need to learn, obey, and practice daily. are found in Ephesians 5:20: “giving thanks always FOR ALL THINGS to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “IN EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Giving God thanks for everything He brings to us, and continue giving Him thanks for as long as it takes God to leads us through it (Psalm 23:4); then we are continuously in this thankful relationship with our faithful, caring, loving, forgiving, and protecting Lord.
Thank God for coronavirus (COVID -19), and for as long as it lasts. Do not blame God for anything, but give God credit for everything, for God deserves praise, thanks, and worship, even though those Satan controls, try forcing his will on us, but giving God thanks trusts it to Him.
Those of us who deliberately choose to thank God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both FOR everything each day affords and while IN each day’s opportunities, never complain, criticize, or worry about anything, because we are trusting everything to God’s faithful, loving care (Isaiah 26:3; 1 Peter 5:7), exactly as He commands; for God’s mercy never ends.
Thank God for all His free blessings and give the King of glory His reverential honor.
Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft told me, “Christians are not allowed to be proud, but we are allowed to be thankful.”
We should not say we are proud (full of pride; Proverbs 16:18; James 4:6) of someone, but rather we should say we are thankful (1 Thessalonians 3:8-10—grateful), for them.
When our ungratefulness becomes too heavy for prayer to lift, we must repent (turn around, go back the way we came, until we find Jesus—Jeremiah 29:11-13; Luke 2:41-46).
Christians are not allowed to hate or lie (1 John 4:12, 18-21), but we are allowed to love, be honest, truthful (Proverbs 8:7; Zechariah 8:16), forgive, and help one another (James 2:14-18).
When we choose to be thankful FOR and IN everything, life will become more enjoyable than we could ever have imagined.
Never blame God for anything, but give God credit for everything, and appreciate the highest rank and value (preeminence), God is to us, by allowing us to be His heirs (Romans 8:16-18), members of Christ’s body, the church (Ephesians 1:20-23; 3:5-7; 5:30-31), for eternal life is in Him (1 John 5:9-11).
Always be thankful FOR and IN everything; be honest, truthful, merciful, caring, and forgiving; believe and obey God’s word, trusting everything to the God, whose word we believe.
When this becomes our lifestyle, we listen much, speak less (Proverbs 10:19), criticize not, love unconditionally, and forgive the way God forgave and forgives us, through Christ.
Giving thanks FOR AND IN ALL THINGS welds hearts and repairs broken relationships.
Jim Nabors
