The Power of Giving Thanks
The scripture tells us to give thanks in everything (1st Thess 5:18). As I pondered on this, I quickly came to realize that this is a tough thing to do, initially. It is a natural thing for us to give thanks when we receive something that we desire, and to complain about things when we receive things that we dislike. It’s easy to give thanks when all the lots fall into pleasant places for us. But what about giving thanks just after being verbally abused by someone who is supposed to love you? What about giving thanks when your health keeps acting up? How do you give thanks when you’re falling behind on your mortgage?
Here’s the secret. Giving thanks should not be treated like a situational transaction. Too often, our thanks is made known after we have benefitted from receiving something that we desire. Giving thanks is an intentional state of being that attracts the presence and favor of God. The intentionality of your thanksgiving is the acknowledgment that God is with you whether or not you can see the evidence of his hand, wisdom, and or protection. To put this another way, being in a perpetual state of thanksgiving does not bring heaven to you, rather it is the vehicle by which we ascend to realize His kingdom all around us.
In the text, the Greek word for ‘Thanks’ is ‘eucharisteo’ which means to be grateful or to feel thankful. However, this feeling of thankfulness is not logically based. In the study of formal logic, they tell us that if A is and B happens, then C is the outcome. Rather, this feeling of gratitude is intrinsically based. Intrinsic is belonging to a thing by its very nature. In other words, thankfulness is a feeling that already belongs to you, not a feeling that happens to you.
Just as a lawyer practices law, a doctor practices medicine, or a professional football player has to go to practice, so too, our lifestyle must be that we practice thanksgiving if we are to give thanks in everything. Practicing thanksgiving is not about saying thank you. It is coming to an understanding of the spiritual power resonating on the inside of you (meditate) until you vibrate with the same frequency as heaven. When this becomes your practice, God will be able to fulfill all of His purposes for you!
