For All Things

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ….

Ephesians 4:20

A thankful spirit is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit’s filling us.  As Paul writes to the Ephesians to instruct them regarding the practical outgrowth of being ‘in Christ,’ he enjoins them to give ‘thanks always for all things.’  Because we are new creatures in Christ, with perfection still a long way away, we find this utterly impossible by force of will.  We very often hear the counsel to ‘be more thankful,’ yet we find, in and of ourselves, we do not have the capacity to give thanks for everything.  Because of the social pressure, of especially the religious community, we perhaps feel that we need to look and sound more thankful than we feel in order to preserve our image.  The net result is a finely polished image and deep underlying issues.  How can we truly come to ‘give thanks in all things?’  We do so by looking to Christ to fill us with His Spirit to enable us to do what we cannot naturally do.  It is the Holy Spirit Who lifts our spirit.  He is able to elevate us to have the ability to give thanks in all things.  Christ said, ‘Without Me you can do nothing.’  We want to be thankful and therefore look to Him, Who by His Spirit can make us so.

Our Good and Gracious God,
we rejoice that You work all things together for our good.
We praise You, that You set before us,
a host of good things, for which we can be thankful,
and fill us with Your Spirit,
to enable us to utter thanks for them.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning