Thanksgiving and God’s Will

What does gratitude have to do with the will of God? Can we be ungrateful and be walking in the will of God for our lives? Is a posture of thanksgiving essential to joy and obediently discerning and living out God’s perfect will?

Gratitude and God’s will go hand in hand. As followers of Jesus we are called to give thanks in all circumstances. Rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving is essential to living in God’s will.

The Apostle Paul spoke to the church in Thessalonica about living in the will of God, encouraging them by saying, “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, ESV).

While rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in every circumstance is challenging in a broken world, where many are ungrateful, or do not see all there is to be thankful for, followers of Jesus are called to this high standard, as difficult as it is. It is out of alignment with God’s word and design to be fully within the will of God and be ungrateful at the same time.

Despite the challenges, followers of Jesus still reach toward the goal of thankfulness. It is important for us to cultivate disciplines of gratitude in our lives. When we foster the disciplines of gratitude, we enter into a deeper intimacy with God and others and we live more joyful and contented lives.

When we are constantly living in a posture of rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving, we are walking intimately with God in his perfect will for our lives.

May we experience the security, peace, and pleasure of living in God’s will as we “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.”

A Collect for Thanksgiving Day (United States): “Most merciful Father, we humbly thank you for all your gifts so freely bestowed upon us: for life and health and safety, for strength to work and leisure to rest, for all that is beautiful in creation and in human life; but above all we thank you for our spiritual mercies in Christ Jesus our Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 2019).

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