With the explosion of social media it has become common for people to give a daily report of what they are thankful for during the month of November. People are thankful for family, friends, jobs, pets, and a whole list of other things. I think this is a great idea and it is always good to reflect on the blessings you have, but I think as Christians we are called to more.
It is easy to be thankful for things like family and friends and the things in our life. The Bible urges us to go deeper than being thankful for things, we are to "give thanks IN all things" not just FOR things. Giving thanks in things isn't always easy to do. Life has a way of putting us in circumstances where we probably don't feel very thankful. Paul, the author of this admonition, spent a lot of his life in jail and in fear for his life, and yet he tells us to give thanks in all things. In one instance he found himself in chains in front of King Agrippa pleading for his life. Rather than bemoaning his situation he boldly proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ and tells the king that he wished everyone could be in the position he was in minus the chains. Here he was in jail and on trial for his very life and he was thankful. He was thankful, not for the chains, but in his God. When your focus is on God all other things pale in comparison. Our little problems are insignificant when seen in the glory of God.
There are a lot of things I am thankful for and some I am not, but I am thankful in all things.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
