Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

This is week #2 of our series called Momma Said. Seems rather appropriate that Mother’s Day falls smack in the middle of this series. I want to wish all our mommas here today a happy Mother’s Day.

Our mommas said a lot of things. How could we forget the wisdom that our mommas passed on to us? Wisdom like, “Your face is going to freeze that way,” and “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all,” and, “Because I said so, that’s why.”

No matter what the situation, momma always had something to say about it. That’s one of the reasons why we love them and one of the reasons why we honor them today.

In this series, we’re revisiting a few of the classics that we heard from our mommas. Momma told us to always say, “Please,” “Thank you, and “I’m sorry.”

Last week, we learned why momma was right when she taught us that “please” is the magic word. “Please” represents humility. When we approach our relationships from a position of humility instead of pride, we set the stage for God to bless and grow that relationship.

Today, we remember that momma always taught us to say, “Thank you.” And on the day we have set aside to thank momma for everything she has done for us, there is no better time to remember what “thank you” is really all about. We’re going to be in 1 Thessalonians 5 today. Let’s pray and then we’ll dive into the Word of God.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Bible says, “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV)

Your momma would love this verse, because she taught you to always say “thank you.” So how do we approach this principle that both God and momma have taught us? Let’s unpack this verse and explore exactly what God is telling us.

First of all, God tells us to “give thanks.” He doesn’t say, “Be thankful.” He tells us to “give thanks.” It’s not a state of being. It’s a state of doing.

If I have to give you something, that means that it will cost me something. Gratitude will cost you something. It’s not easy to do. It requires you to give something of yourself.

Gratitude means that you will have to give up your self-centeredness. It’s not about you at all. There are way too many people who claim the name of Christ, but don’t live a life of sacrifice for Christ. They have crafted their faith in such a way that they can make it all about them and what they want and what they like. And that’s why God commands us to give thanks, but it takes the focus off of us.

Gratitude has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with someone else. So whether you give thanks to God or to another person, you are putting them in the spotlight. You are putting them ahead of yourself. You are ascribing more worth to them than you are to yourself.

It also means that you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is. Again, the Bible tells us to “give thanks.” It doesn’t tell us to “say thanks.” It tells us to “give thanks.” That implies action. It means actually doing something.

Your momma taught you to say “thank you,” but what she really wanted you to learn was to live a life of gratitude. That’s what it means to give thanks.

It means that you look for ways to honor someone for the contribution they have made to your life. And most of us, if we are honest, will have to admit that we are pretty pathetic at that.

Instead of gratitude, it’s really easy to start taking people for granted, isn’t it? We treat most people like we treat our water heater.

I know this is weird, but hang with me. When is the last time you even thought about your water heater? You use it every day. Every time you turn on your shower, you are relying on your water heater, but you never think about it until…what? Until it quits working.

Then, all of a sudden, your life revolves around your water heater. Yesterday you never even gave a thought to your water heater. But now that there are ice cubes coming out of your shower head, you can’t think of anything but your water heater.

How many water heater people do you have in your life? People who are always contributing to your life…always doing and giving good things to you…and you never notice it. Don’t wait until they stop doing that to give them the gratitude and honor that they deserve.

That means taking action and doing something for them. They’ll appreciate it if you say, “thank you.” But they’ll remember it if you show them, “thank you.”

Who do you need to thank? What can you do to, not just say thanks, but to give them thanks? That cranks up the intensity, but that’s exactly what needs to happen. We need to be people of intense gratitude.

When it comes to giving gratitude and honor to the people God has placed in our lives, we need to always think about how we can go the extra mile.

In Romans 12, the Bible says, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12:10, ESV)

God wants his people to compete against each other in showing gratitude and honor. And if we did that, think about the difference that it would make.

How would your marriage be different if you and spouse tried to outdo the other in showing gratitude? What would happen if you both went the extra mile to honor each other? If your spouse does something great to honor you, you immediately start thinking about how you can one-up them.

Think about how this principle would revolutionize the church. Brian and I were talking about this very thing this week. We were talking about how to honor and give thanks to our volunteers. We talked about something big. The idea is still raw and unrefined, but if we can make it happen, there is not a volunteer in this church that will want to miss it.

The vision of our church is connecting, growing, and serving. And part of that is honoring our servants. It’s all about us going the extra mile in honor and gratitude.

Where have you been cutting corners? Where have you not gone the extra mile in giving gratitude? If you’ll commit to take your gratitude to another level, the relationship will follow. Honor and gratitude are like relationship Miracle-Gro. The further you go in showing gratitude, the deeper the relationship will go.

Now, let’s read a little further in this verse. “Give thanks in all circumstances.”

Now we’re getting out of the frying pan and into the fire. This is pretty advanced stuff, but the fact is that a hallmark of God’s people is their ability to give thanks in all circumstances.

That word “all” is not a pretty word, is it? Because all means…all. Give thanks in ALL circumstances. Even when those circumstances seem to be kicking you in the teeth. Even when life stinks, the Bible tells you to give thanks in those circumstances.

What the heck? Seriously. What is God thinking here? It is incredibly hard…actually, it feels almost impossible to give thanks in bad circumstances.

We know we should. We know the Bible says it. We know we should give thanks in all circumstances. It is the right answer to the question. It is the answer that works in Sunday School. But it’s also the answer that doesn’t always seem to work in real life.

This week, I read a gut-wrenching article by a lady whose son was stillborn. And I almost didn’t include it in this message because today is Mother’s Day. There couldn’t be a worse day for bringing this up. But I decided to include it anyway.

First of all, I’m including it because I know that Mother’s Day is not a happy day for all our ladies. For some of you, it’s a very painful day because you’ve never been able to have children or because you’ve lost a child. And so I want you to know that as we celebrate today, you are not forgotten. We also remember and honor you today.

And I also wanted to talk about this article because this lady gave me some incredible perspective on our verse from 1 Thessalonians.

The Bible tells us to “give thanks IN all circumstances.” It doesn’t say, “give thanks FOR all circumstances.” The difference in wording is subtle, but the difference in meaning and application to our lives is incalculable.

The Bible also says in the book of Romans, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NIV)

Again, pay careful attention to the wording. The Bible says that in all things, God works for good. It does not say all things are good. Huge, huge difference.

I want to set you free here. The liberating truth is that if you’re in a really tough season in your life, you do not have to be thankful for it. You don’t have to force yourself to believe that your situation is good when it isn’t. That’s not faith. That’s insanity.

The woman who wrote this article was not thankful that her son was stillborn. She wrote, “I do believe that God can and will bring good out of this tremendous loss, though I will never say it was a good thing my son died.”

Being thankful doesn’t mean that we are glad for the painful times. Instead, it means that we are glad that God walks with us in the painful times.

Even when it’s hard to be grateful, we can thank God for walking with us in our pain. Psalm 56 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (Psalm 56:8, NLT)

You have never experienced a sorrow that God hasn’t remembered. You’ve never shed a tear that God hasn’t saved. He isn’t distant from your pain. He’s in the middle of it. It might not make sense now. And if you’re really hurting, you may not think this is a great comfort right now. But hang on. Give it time.

Remember that God sees the entire picture. He knows how it will work out. You don’t get that luxury. All you get is the knowledge that God is with you in your pain. And, if you hang on, you’ll eventually realize that that is enough. In the absence of answers from God, you do have the presence of God. And ultimately, that is enough.

And here’s something else to remember. When it’s hard to give thanks in a tough situation, think about what you really deserve.

Last week we talked about how God doesn’t give us what we really deserve. Psalm 103 reminds us that, “[God] does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. “(Psalm 103:10, NIV)

In his grace, God doesn’t give us what we deserve. So however bad things are right now, take a minute to consider what you really deserve.

You deserve hell. I deserve hell. Because of our sinfulness, we deserve hell. That means that anything short of hell is God’s blessing to you. Anything short of hell is God’s grace to you.

Maybe your momma used to say, “It could always be worse.” She was right. It could be worse…a lot worse. That’s some good perspective if you’re having a hard time giving thanks during a tough season in your life.

A few months ago, Brian Morrissey and I visited Children’s Hospital. Honestly, I was having a pretty rotten week. It just felt like everything was going wrong. I was frustrated. I was tired. I just felt like cashing in my chips and giving up. I was definitely NOT living out a godly gratitude that week. It was more like constant complaining.

Then, as we were leaving the hospital, we saw a little girl struggling to walk. She had crutches in both hands. I didn’t know exactly what the problem was, but it was very obvious that every step caused her intense pain.

Her physical therapist was walking very slowly beside her, singing the ABCs. She kept encouraging the girl to sing with her to take her mind off the pain. So, through clenched teeth and in between sobs, this little girl who couldn’t walk sang her ABCs.

It destroyed me. I just wanted to hug her and tell her that it was going to be alright, but I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that anything was going to be alright for her.

I also wanted to get home and hug my own kids. We’ve had a lot of struggles with illness. We hook Brock up to a breathing machine every night to treat his asthma. But you know what? That’s nothing compared to what I saw that day.

I was immediately convicted of my sin. I was being a selfish, self-centered baby. And God forced me to come in contact with someone who had it far worse than I did.

Maybe you need a similar dose of perspective. Let me tell you something…when God does provide that kind of perspective, it will mess you up. It broke me in two. But it also forced me back into a lifestyle of gratitude.

Sometimes we need that kind of perspective because instead of living with intense gratitude, a lot of us are chronic complainers.

The Bible says in Philippians 2, “Do everything without complaining…” (Philippians 2:14, NIV)

How are you doing on that one? I forced myself to survey how I’m doing on this. I didn’t like what I discovered. I thought through all the different things that I’ve complained about this week.

In just the last week, I have complained about the food in a restaurant, the price of gasoline, the amount of rain we’ve had, the length of the grass in my yard, and the fact that my mower had a flat tire. I’ve complained about a sore throat, slow traffic, and the Reds closing pitcher. And that’s just the stuff that I can remember from this past week.

I’m a chronic complainer. I bet you are, too. And all the while, the Bible says, “Do everything without complaining.”

The key is to intentionally infuse the situation with gratitude. Here’s what that does. Instead of complaining about the price of gas, I’m thankful that I have a car to put gas in. Instead of complaining that I don’t like what I ordered in a restaurant, I remember that a lot of people in the world can’t eat out. Over a billion people have almost nothing to eat at all. When I’m tempted to complain about how much it has rained, I take a look at what is happening with the flooding in Nashville.

It’s all a matter of perspective. That’s how we can give thanks in all circumstances.

But now, let’s flip this coin over. It’s incredibly hard to give thanks in bad circumstances. But you know what? It’s also hard to give thanks in good circumstances.

At first, that makes no sense. If you’re experiencing good things, it should be easy to give thanks. Actually, the exact opposite is true. When things are going good, it’s incredibly easy to leave gratitude in the dust.

God warned the Old Testament Israelites about that in the book of Deuteronomy. In chapter 8, the Bible says, “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.

Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God…

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…

If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.” (Deuteronomy 8:10-14b, 17-19, NIV)

When things are going bad, it’s hard to give thanks to God because we’re mad at Him. When things are going good, it’s hard to give thanks to God because we have forgotten Him.

If things are bad right now, they could be much worse. That is God’s grace to you. If things are going good right now, it is all because of God’s grace to you.

Let’s go back to our verse. “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV)

Focus in on the last part of the verse. The Bible tells us that we give thanks in all circumstances because it is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

Now, I want to point out something that God showed me this week. I’ve never thought about this until I was studying for this message.

It would have been enough if the Bible just said, “give thanks in all circumstances because it is God’s will for you.” That would be enough.

As the people of God, the only motivator we should need to do anything is the knowledge that it is God’s will. If God wants me to do it, then I’ll do it. That ought to be enough for us.

But God gives us even more. Gratitude in all circumstances is “God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Gratitude is not just God’s will for you. It is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Here’s what that means.

God’s will for you is based in God’s love for you. When God gave you His greatest gift, the very life of His Son, it proved beyond any doubt that He loves you. So, when God commands you to do something, it is borne out of His love for you. God’s will for you is based in God’s love for you.

And when God tells us that this is His will for us in Jesus, that also reminds us that whatever our circumstances are, those circumstances are not the end of our story. Because of Jesus, everything we experience here in this world, good and bad, is all temporary. There are many, many more chapters to be written for us.

So, even in the worst of circumstances, we can give thanks because Jesus has promised that those circumstances are temporary.

We just spent a month talking about the second coming of Jesus in a series called How To Survive The End of the World. You can check out the podcast of that series on our website. It is one of the most amazing series we’ve ever had. God blew my mind.

Throughout that series, we remembered that Jesus promised He would come back for us, and that gives us the power to give thanks in any circumstance because we know that circumstance won’t last forever.

That’s the ultimate source of gratitude. When I understand that Jesus took my place on the cross, He died for my sin, He rose for my victory, and He’s coming back to take me into His presence for all eternity…dang. How do I not respond with intense gratitude?

Mike Edmisten

Tags: 1 Thessalonians 5, gratitude, Momma Said, thankfulness,