An Undercurrent of Gratitude

“…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 

G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”* It’s a great quotation, but the Bible was first to come with the idea. God’s Word tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances,” and urges us to be “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 5:20, emphasis mine).  

That doesn’t leave much wiggle room, does it? In which circumstances? All of them. How often? Always. For what things? For everything. “But wait,” you might say. “That would mean we’re virtually giving thanks and praising God all day long for everything that happens.” Yes, that’s just what the Bible is saying. It doesn’t have to be out loud or obnoxious, but from dawn to dusk, there ought to be an unceasing undercurrent of gratitude in all that we do and say. 

Lord, as in everything else, You will have to supply the want to as I consider these things. Sometimes there are painful, sorrowful circumstances that make no sense at all to me. If I am to live with an attitude of gratitude in “everything,” it will have to come from a deeper source than me!