By Eprex Balucay
1 Thessalonians 5:16
Rejoice always,
‘Thank you’ is a phrase used by most people and it is overly emphasized when something good has happened. These two words are accompanied mostly by an abundance in things, accepted favours, treats, and such. However, looking into 1 Thessalonians, Paul exhorts the believers to “give thanks in all circumstances…”. The word “all” is not to be overlooked in the slightest bit as it means everything trivial and prejudicial that comes passing in your life. One example in the Bible is Job, the man who had everything taken away from him, yet had the mindset to still thank the Lord for what has happened. He said in Job 1:21b, “…The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
What had made Job steady and focused on God despite having everything around him crumble before his eyes? Firstly, Job had recognized that everything is for God’s glory (1 Corinthians 10:31) and not for his own. We are stewards of everything God has given to us, including our very own lives. Knowing that we are God’s stewards, we are required to be faithful to Him (1 Corinthians 4:2) by serving one another through the gifts that God has entrusted to us (1 Peter 4:10).
Secondly, we are not to be dictated by our fleshly desires anymore, for we have put to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13). A reason why we fail to be thankful to God is that we focus more on gratifying what we feel about the situation rather than seeing every circumstance in God’s point of view (Romans 8:5). The old man [the flesh] craves for what he had before: ego and self-gratification which leads to sin unimaginable. Knowing that we are God’s children and not our own, the duty to mortify our sinful self grows more apparent and becomes our daily battle (1 Corinthians 15:31).
Lastly, we must depend fully on God alone, for knowing that we put to death our flesh, our strength comes solely from God (Colossians 1:29). Those who wait on God will have his strength renewed (Isaiah 40:31) and to those who long for rest, Jesus calls His own to run to Him when they are weary (Matthew 11:28-30). When we rest in Jesus and draw our strength from Him, we have none to thank but God Himself.
When trials and problems come, be aware that we are stewards of grace who kill our fleshly desires and draws strength from God. We live for and through God; this reality reveals to us the sovereignty of God in everything, He controls all things, and He always knows what is best for us.