From the time we’re young, we’re taught to say “thank you” when someone gives us something or does something for us.
And for us Christians, the Bible teaches us, “In everything give thanks.” But what about when we get bad news, or get sick, or our whole day falls apart?
That sounds impossible, and on our own, it is. But the Bible also reveals the secret that makes it possible, and it has nothing to do with forcing ourselves to feel thankful.
“In everything give thanks”
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote about giving thanks to God more than 30 times, which shows how important this matter is in our Christian life.
Paul’s most challenging charge to believers is in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:
“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
In everything—this is the challenge. In everything means everything, whether good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. It’s easy for us to happily give thanks for the positive things the Lord has done for us or supplied us with. But it’s much harder for us to thank Him when we’re facing difficult situations.
Yet Paul says here that for us to give thanks in everything is God’s will for us. And he didn’t mean we should just say the words “thank you” because we know we should.
Did Paul understand how hard it would be to give thanks in everything, including the bad things? Was he telling the believers to do something he himself didn’t practice?
Paul’s experience
The book of Acts gives us many details related to Paul’s life. We can see that it was by no means easy and trouble-free. He was imprisoned, persecuted, beaten, and even stoned. Yet Acts 16:25 tells us that even while he was in prison, he praised God.
Now let’s also consider what happened to Paul in Acts 27. He was again a prisoner and was being transported on a ship to Rome. During that voyage, the ship was caught in a violent storm that lasted multiple days. Yet Paul didn’t lose heart. Instead, he encouraged the terrified sailors and others on board, including the soldiers guarding him. Verse 35 says he “gave thanks to God before all.”
So when Paul told the Thessalonian believers “in everything give thanks,” this was something he actually practiced, even in the most awful situations.
How was Paul able to do this? Was he some kind of “super Christian”? Actually, in Ephesians 3:8, Paul said that he considered himself “less than the least of all saints.” So how was he able to genuinely give thanks to God in everything?
Giving thanks in the name of the Lord
Let’s read Ephesians 5:20:
“Giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.”
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ––this is the secret to giving thanks to God, not only in good times but at all times, not only for good things but for all things.
But what does it mean to give thanks in the name of the Lord? In the Bible, a name is more than a label. It stands for the person himself. Note 2 on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version explains:
“The reality of the name of the Lord is His person. To be in the Lord’s name is to be in His person, in Himself. This implies that we should be one with the Lord in giving thanks to God.”
So giving thanks to God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is to give thanks together with Him, being one with Him.
Colossians 3:17 echoes this thought:
“And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Note 1 on this verse says:
“The name denotes the person. The Lord’s person is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17a). To do things in the name of the Lord is to act in the Spirit. This is to live Christ.”
Second Corinthians 3:17 states, “The Lord is the Spirit.” First Corinthians 15:45 tells us that in resurrection, Christ became the life-giving Spirit. As the Spirit, He’s no longer limited physically. This is how He can live in every believer, including us. So to do something in His name is to act in Him, not in ourselves. This is how we live Christ.
What it means to live Christ
What is it to live Christ? Let’s now read Philippians 1:21, where Paul said:
“For to me, to live is Christ.”
Paul didn’t say, “To me, to live is to try as hard as I can to be like Christ.” He said, “To live is Christ.” Note 1 on this verse in the Recovery Version explains what Paul meant. The second part says:
“Christ was not only [Paul’s] life but also his living. He lived Christ because Christ lived in him (Gal. 2:20). He was one with Christ in both life and living. He and Christ had one life and one living.”
Life is inward, and living is outward. This living is something people can actually see: how we talk, act, treat others, or handle a hard day.
Let’s use the example of a glove to illustrate this matter of inward life and outward living. On its own, an empty glove can’t do anything. But when a hand fills it, the glove moves together with the hand. The glove becomes the visible expression of what the hand within it is doing. In this example, the hand is Christ within us as our life. Our daily living in oneness with Him is like the glove, moving with and expressing Him.
Now let’s read the rest of the note:
“They lived together as one person. Christ lived within Paul as Paul’s life, and Paul lived Christ without as Christ’s living. The normal experience of Christ is to live Him, and to live Him is to magnify Him always, regardless of the circumstances.”
To magnify Christ means to make Him big and visible in our daily life. This was Paul’s testimony and experience. Christ lived within him as his life, and Paul’s daily living was the outward expression of that life, even while he was in prison or in the middle of a storm at sea. He and Christ weren’t separate. They lived together as one person.
This was Paul’s secret of how someone who called himself “less than the least of all saints” could give thanks in everything. The thanks Paul gave in even the worst situations was Christ being lived out of him.
How we can practice giving thanks in everything
If we’re honest, we’ll admit we can’t genuinely thank God for painful or distressing things by ourselves. Loss, sickness, and disappointment hurt, and God knows this. He doesn’t want us to pretend that they don’t. But here’s the encouraging part: just as with Paul, Christ lives in us as our life.
We can see throughout the Gospels that the life the Lord lived on earth was full of giving thanks to the Father in every kind of situation. So when we live Christ, we’re one with Him and can thank God for all things.
But practically speaking, how do we experience this? We need to keep in mind verses like 2 Timothy 4:22:
“The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.”
This verse points us to the fact that Christ is in our human spirit, the deepest part of our being. We can readily contact Him in our spirit at any time by praying short, simple prayers.
For example, if we’re stuck in traffic, we can take a moment to tell Him, “Lord, I’m frustrated, and now I’m running late. I need You.” As we contact Him like this, we might find ourselves adding, “Lord Jesus, thank You that You’re here with me right now.”
That’s a small example, but the same pattern applies to bigger things too, like a hard day at work, a serious illness, or a heartbreaking situation. Whatever we’re facing, we can open to the Lord in our spirit and honestly tell Him how we feel. We don’t need to polish our prayer or force ourselves to feel thankful. As we open to Him, Christ has room to be our life within and to express Himself through our living outwardly. Often, without even planning to, we find ourselves thanking Him—not because everything is fine, but because He is with us.
This is how we can learn from Paul’s example and experience to give thanks to God in everything. No matter what we’re going through right now, let’s practice opening to the Lord, conversing with Him, and letting Him express Himself through our living.
To read all these verses and their notes for yourself, if you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
