I Just Wanted to Say Thanks
12. Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.
13. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.
14. Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.
15. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.
16. Always be joyful.
17. Never stop praying.
18. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
19. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.
20. Do not scoff at prophecies,
21. but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.
22. Stay away from every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22
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At the Academy Awards in Hollywood, award-winning movie stars, producers, and artists say thank-you to other stars, producers, and artists. Normally these people viciously compete with each other, but one night a year, they pause to recognize each other’s achievements. Perhaps some express gratitude more often than this. For some, however, this is the only time they take to say thanks.
Saying thanks was not a once-a-year occasion for Paul. Rather it was a lifestyle. In the last chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Paul explains why believers should always maintain an attitude of thankfulness. When did you last thank God for his innumerable blessings?
Paul also gives practical reasons for living holy lives, especially in the area of sexual relations.
Paul wrote that believers should “be thankful in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). His statement can be easily misunderstood. Paul was not teaching that Christians should thank God for everything that happens in their lives. For instance, they should not thank God for personal sin and for the evil in the world. Evil comes from sin and from Satan, not from God. But they should thank God in every situation.
No matter what goes wrong or right, we can still be thankful to God for his presence and help. We have his promise that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28), so we have a reason to be thankful.
At all times, keep in mind all that God has done. Then you will have plenty of reasons to be thankful—for God, for the joys he brings, and for the spiritual growth he can bring about through trials.
