HOW TO BE THANKFUL IN TOUGH TIMES (Ephesians 5:20)

HOW TO BE THANKFUL IN TOUGH TIMES (EPHESIANS 5:20)

In my opinion, today’s lesson is about the hardest commandment in all of the Bible to keep and to obey.  Yet, we are going to read about a commandment that if we do obey it, it will bring perhaps the biggest blessing of all. And here it is:

Eph 5:20
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
KJV

It would be relatively simple if that scripture said, “Giving thanks always,” because there is always something that we can be thankful for.  For example, breathing, or our heart beating, or the sun rising.  But it says, “Giving thanks always for all things.”  Notice the words, “all things.”  The hard part of this commandment is, what do you do when you don’t feel thankful?  How can you be thankful when you are faced with the tragedies and trials of life?

Basically, there are four levels of life when it comes to being thankful. First of all, there are some people who are not thankful for anything.  They are constantly complaining, constantly bickering, constantly griping, and we have all been around that kind of person.

A little bit higher than that are people who just simply are filled with ingratitude. They just don’t give thanks. They may not grumble all the time, but they are basically ungrateful people. They are like a hog under a tree eating acorns off the ground, never looking up to see where they came from. And many of us just consume the blessings of God without looking up to thank Him.

Next, there’s a third level. It’s a little higher than that, and these are the ones who are thankful for obvious blessings when they come. If it’s an obvious blessing for health, for prosperity, for friends, for family, for church, we thank God. And that is good; we ought to do that.

But the highest level of thanksgiving, and the one I want to talk about today, is giving thanks always, for all things, no matter what—continual, perpetual, thanksgiving unto God. Now, that is a wonderful principle, and I am saying that it will transform your life from monotonous to momentous.

Click on the play button to hear a message on how you can be thankful to God even in the tough times, even when the trials you are facing are terrible.  

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.