Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Aware of it or not, we are constantly analyzing and evaluating how we think our lives are going and where they are heading. Thanklessness usually happens when we don’t like what we see about our lives, or we fail to see God’s grace at work in our lives. If we are grumbling about what we don’t have, what we don’t like, or what we don’t understand, then we will overlook all that He is doing for us and all that He is to us. Jesus offers us reason after reason after reason to be joyful and thankful because He offers us Himself, and He offers us His salvation. Not perishing is a gift that is so spectacular and stunning it is impossible to comprehend its full magnitude. Having eternal life is a gift that is of such pricelessness and preciousness it is impossible to estimate its full worth. From these two mind-blowing, breath-taking kindnesses of God in Christ are an innumerable and inexhaustible inventory of gospel benefits and blessings for those who believe. And we don’t deserve any of it. It’s all because of Jesus. It’s all because of grace. Rejoice! Give thanks! Don’t you see? If you know Jesus, your life is going unbelievably well (even if there is suffering present). If you know Jesus, you’re heading home to everlasting good (even if things are bad on the way). In every circumstance, you have reason to be joyful and thankful because you have Him. You don’t have to look very far or very hard to see the reason, but you do have to look. I’m not talking about looking on the bright side of things, looking for the silver lining, or looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty. I’m talking about looking at reason after reason after reason for rejoicing in Jesus: He puts good things in your life right now, He works out the bad things for good in time, and He has promised that the best possible things you could ever imagine are yet to come.
