Word of Encouragement (11/25/2020)
Blessed Thanksgiving morning to you! It is appropriate that we meditate on the third command, “...give thanks in all circumstances....”
This command, too, reminds us of what kind of kingdom we belong to—a kingdom of God’s sovereign grace. We should give thanks to God because we belong to a kingdom of God’s sovereign grace; we should give thanks to God in all circumstances because we belong to a kingdom of God’s sovereign grace.
What does grace have to do with giving thanks? “Gratitude is an emotion we feel in response to receiving something good which is undeserved” (Lacewing). We don’t feel grateful when we think we got something we earned. Grace is the undeserved (more precisely, demerited) favor God grants to sinners. We don’t belong to a meritocracy; we belong to a kingdom of God’s grace: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9); “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it” (1 Cor. 4:7)? So then, it is only right that we should give thanks to God for all things.
But we should give thanks to God also “in all circumstances” because we belong to a kingdom of God’s sovereign grace. God is sovereign over all aspects of our lives and all our affairs. How can we give thanks to God in all circumstances unless He is in control of all our circumstances? The Westminster Shorter Catechism affirms this: “God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions” (#11). And those who belong to God by faith in His Son have this assurance: “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). So then, it is only right that we should give thanks to God in all circumstances.
But the kingdom of God’s sovereign grace is a temporary one—praise God! It is predestined to be replaced with, or translated into, a kingdom of glory. When the kingdom of glory arrives with the Second Coming of Christ, we will not be giving thanks to God by faith in all circumstances, including the painful and heartbreaking ones. We will be giving thanks to God by sight because all of His wonderful promises will have come true in their full measure. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).
Let us not forget to which kingdom we belong to now. And let us not forget to which kingdom God will bring us to. In view of these glorious truths, let us give thanks to God in all circumstances by faith until we will be giving thanks to God by sight! This is what God’s sovereign grace deserves from us. This is what we ought to do for His glorious grace. But this exhortation to give thanks in all circumstances is a blessing in and of itself, too, isn’t it? Have you known anyone who is not grateful and still happy? Ingratitude poisons every blessing into something miserable and deadly. Gratitude, on the other hand, is a fertile soil, which makes every blessing of God blossom and bear fruit in our soul—the fruit of inexpressible joy, and the fruit of patience and hope even in times of sorrow and pain. Let us give thanks to God in all circumstances! Have a blessed Thanksgiving!