Why do I think thankfulness is so important?  Just the volume of biblical references to the concept is enough for me to think it’s pretty ciritical, but here is one specific verse (another to come tomorrow):

Ephesians 5:15-21 (NKJ)
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.

By the way, I looked at three different translations and all command us to give thanks either for “all things” or “everything”, this one even adds redundancy: “always for all things”.  So, my “why” in this verse is pretty simple.  There is a clear implication that we are acting as fools if we do not give thanks for all things, and a direct statement that giving thanks for all things is a fundamental part of acting wisely.  And this is not a passage in the context of everything going good in life.  Note that it is prefaced that we must act wisely, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  And that’s the setting in which giving thanks for all things is critical.

I’ve heard people stand up and vigorously object to this verse before, i.e.: “I’m not going to give thanks for trials from the enemy…”.  Well, I guess God stands corrected.  Look, “all things” and “everything” seem pretty clear to me.  Back to my philosophy of accepting that I’m not very smart, God knows that, and He intends for clear language in His Word to mean what it says it means.  I, therefore, will not reject anything in the Word.  But rather, I will work to understand how it can all fit together - it all has to be true, we can’t cherry-pick to fit our desired interpretation regardless of what that is.

So, how do we live in God’s victory, hold fast to the great promises in His Word, and at the same time give thanks for the very things in our lives that are in contradiction to those promises?  It seems clear to me.  I have absolute faith in God’s sovereignty, and his love for me - and in His promises.  So why should I find any difficulty in standing on His promises, and at the same time giving thanks for the opportunity for Him to show Himself faithful on my behalf.  Giving thanks for the trial is not passive resignation.  On the contrary, it is evidence of absolute faith in His ultimate deliverance from that trial. 

For me, that is an expansion of the “why” in this verse.  Giving thanks for even the things we are fighting against demonstrates our faith, and is one way the words we speak line up with His promises.  “Ok, devil, you want to bring (name your trial) to me?  Fine, bring it - you will not be victorious, but you will turn and flee.  Not only am I not afraid of it (or you), I’m going to give thanks to God for that trial because it’s just one more testimony I’m going to have to His power and deliverance.”  That’s faith with teeth and confidence behind it.  The kind I think we need.  I’m not a formula guy so I’m not going to assert that giving thanks = faith = healing or anything like that.  God’s not about formulas, but He is about the attitude of our hearts, and I beleive an attitude of thankfulness leads to, enhances, and supports faith. 

Good Word!  I like the notion of faith with teeth.  It’s this kind of faith that keeps the enemy on his heels, forcing him to flee when we resist.  Thanksgiving and praise is a force he cannot reckon with because God inhabits the praises of his people.  We are building “spiritual muscle” when we are undergoing trial/persecution and we are obedient to follow this word to “give thanks in everything”.  I really appreciate the listing of scriptures on thanks giving.

That list (previous post) came from a quick search at http://www.biblegateway.com.  I’ve found that to be a fabulous resource.  These types of searches take minutes, if not seconds to return that type of results, and you can read any verse in almost any translation, commentaries…

Another thought:  I think you are right on with the muscle analogy.  At the gym where I work out, there is a sign that says: “A greater than normal load or burden is required for adaptation to occur.”  It’s true.  We can’t coast on autopilot and expect to grow.  Growth comes through overcoming obstacles - physical growth, intellectual growth, and I beleive spiritual growth follows that pattern.

I had a similar thought about suffering and discipline when I was running the other morning.  God has designed our muscles to get stronger when they are forced, pushed, exerted, etc.  No pain, no gain is true.  The more comfort and relaxation I have, my muscle tone sinks down to the minimum strength needed to do these things, but then I am not ready for something that requires more strength.  During that run my thought was, suffering with Christ and the body of Christ is similarly an exercise of my spirit.  Perhaps I am too comfortable in my “spirituality” or “Christianity”, and I need to do more daily exercises of discomfort.  It feels uncomfortable to me to “thank” Him for trials.  Choosing to be thankful regardless of the circumstance is an exercise in laying down my whiny, selfish, sinful nature, and allow His gifts of faith and power to bring life and strength to my mortal body (Romans 7).  It seems once again, He asks us to do difficult things (e.g. be a living sacrifice, lose my life to find it, etc.) so He can strengthen our spirit, mind and heart to do the work He has planned for us.  Not just the fun, exciting, miraculous and powerful stuff, but also the daily, uncomfortable, messy and get-dirty work of His Kingdom.

Thank you Lord for this post

Wow, I’m really getting blessed here! Touches on a word from David Platt I was listening to last week contrasting whether we are living a “peace-time” Christianity or a “war-time” Christianity.  Are we living comfortable, atrophied lives, carrying around more than is necessary for our calling, our commission?  Or are we spiritually fit for the war that we are placed in, the one that wages around us every second in the spirit?  They are two radically different lifestyles and affecting two very different ends.  Hebrews 12:1 tells us to run the race set before us with patience (steadfastness, constancy).  Thanks guys!

Here’s the real irony.  Consider Part IV and we see once again that His burden is light.  In some kind of crazy, wonderful way, doing the hard things and denying ourselves relieves us of the heavy burden and makes the hard things a light burden.  That’s His way.  The first will be last and the last will be first.  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it.  Making the really hard initial commitments (they are really hard initially) leads to growth and creates the light burden.  Taking the easy route leads to the heavy burden.