Try Giving Thanks Today

It’s our natural tendency to complain. Anyone can do it. But it is unnatural or even supernatural to give thanks amidst life’s tests and trials. God’s general will for each of us is to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:18). Thankfulness keeps our ears and mind open to hearing God speak to us.

The Bible says we are to thank God in everything, not for everything. This means that no matter what is going on in our lives, we are not to complain, murmur, grumble, or find fault. God doesn’t want to hear us grumbling, because grumbling is evidence that we have no faith in his ability to bring change.

After telling us to thank God in everything, the very next verse says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thess. 5:19). We can quench the Holy Spirit through complaining. Grumblers have a very hard time hearing from God. The Bible says: “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” (Philippians 2:14).

Giving thanks is a form of worship. Worship has the ability to help us get our eyes off of our problems or situation and onto the Lord Jesus. It is self-correcting, like a clock that resets itself to the right time every twenty-four hours. We honor our God as we choose to worship minute by minute by giving thanks.