Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:15-20, NIV).
It is just about impossible to read any of Paul’s letters without coming away with the conviction that one word to describe Paul was thankful. That intense and humble gratitude for all that he had in Christ was not something that was unique to him and his experience. He made it very clear in his life and teaching that thankfulness was something every Christian should be experiencing, pursuing, and growing.
Not just some of the time, but all of the time.
Not just in some things but in everything.
In the text we just read, he goes even further, saying always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.
For everything? What does Paul mean by that?
It is important to understand the meaning of the word thanks in this passage. The word Paul uses is eucharisteo, literally it means to give thanks for grace given. It is a compound of the words for good and grace. Thanksgiving and gratitude is the response to receiving grace; it is the good, humble, heartfelt response to receiving God’s gracious blessings.
Being thankful for God giving good things? Sure. Gracious things? Easy. Knowing that you grew through something? Yeah, we can thank God for that.
But here we are told to always be giving thanks to God for everything. Are we to thank God for evil? Disease? War? Divorce? Abusive husbands? Floods? Famines? Does Paul really mean we need to thank God for these things when they come into our lives?
I think things become a little clearer when we understand the meaning and use of everything. Look at the context: be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this context, I believe everything refers to a specific “everything,” not generally to “everything.”
For instance, when we say God can do anything, we mean He can do anything that is possible to perform and that is consistent with His character. God can’t lie. He can’t sin. He can’t make Himself cease to exist. Yet it is still true to say He can do anything, but it is a specific anything.
When Paul says in Philippians 4:13 (ESV), I can do all things through him who strengthens me, he means he can do all things God wants him to do. It does not mean he can do whatever he wants in Christ.
Verse 15 says that we need to be careful about how we live because the days are evil; are we therefore to thank God that the days are evil? Was Job thankful for losing his children, or his wealth, or his health? Was he thankful for his three friends? No. He was in despair, confused, and frustrated that he had no understanding or explanation of things. Yet we are told that in all this Job did not sin. Are we to be thankful for sin? Are we to be thankful for evil? No. In fact we are told to hate it. You cannot be thankful for a thing you hate. The two are incompatible.
So here, when Paul says we ought to always thank God for everything, I believe the meaning is for everything we have in Christ: God’s grace, redemption, and power, that overcomes and defeats evil in all its forms.
This passage does not teach that we must thank God for cancer, but for God’s grace which continues to work and save in spite of cancer.
Nor is Paul saying we ought to thank God for spiritual attacks from the evil one, but rather for the grace He gives which ultimately leaves his attacks impotent against His kingdom.
We are not to be thankful for death, rather we are to be thankful that Jesus has conquered death. That is what we are to be thankful for: that God has given us everything in Christ, that God is always greater, always working to redeem the evil we create, that we experience, and that the devil carries out.
Now, that said, it is also important to remember that Paul was writing this from prison. While he was incarcerated, God was still blessing him, using him, and even leading through him and his example. Paul’s outward circumstances—which made him look weak and useless to the world—were not in the least a concern to God. Paul’s imprisonment did not make him any less useful, or any less a fountain for God’s blessings to flow out from.
In fact, I don’t think it is out of the realm of possibility that God knew that unless Paul was forcibly stopped, he would never sit still long enough to pen the letters we have today! Think about it, the most lasting works that Paul did, were things he did while he was in prison! I don’t think it is stretching things to say that Paul accomplished more for the kingdom of God from jail than he did when he was free!
What looks weak to us, often times puts us in the position for God to show how strong He is. So whatever this means, it certainly means that we need to be thankful in and for times of adversity, hardship, and difficulty. But not for the things in and of themselves, rather because of the grace that God works in, around, and through them.
We can always be thankful, even in bad, twisted, heartbreaking things, because in Jesus we have everything. Joseph was able to be thankful for his brother’s selling him into slavery, because grace turned that sin upside down and turned it into the means by which he would save his family.
Paul was able to be thankful for being under house arrest, having an evil spirit torment him, and for all the suffering he endured, because grace made it clear that he was not enough but in Jesus, through Jesus, because of Jesus, he would always have enough—because God’s grace is made perfect in weakness (1 Corinthians 12:10).
Certainly the greatest evil ever committed was the condemnation and execution of Jesus Christ; yet God’s grace turned that evil inside out and reformed it into the greatest good that has ever been given. If grace can work a means to be thankful for the cross, is there anything that is not possible for grace to make us thankful for?
But we need to be honest. This is not always easy. With Joseph, Paul, and Jesus, we see the reason things happened. We see how things turned out. But this is not always the case.
We don’t always know why things happen.
We don’t always discern what God is doing.
We don’t always get answers.
It doesn’t mean we will enjoy the benefits of our suffering this side of heaven.
But while we don’t always know why things happen, we can still be thankful because we know that one day, God’s kingdom will come in its fullness and all will be made right.
And while we don’t always discern what God is doing, we can be thankful anyway; because these things teach us the truth that we are not enough, that we are not in control, that we are broken. They teach us that we need to be learning to love and follow Jesus because He is worth loving and following, not simply because of the benefits we get here, or the good feelings He brings, or that we approve of or understand where He is taking us.
While we don’t always get answers, we can be thankful because these times make us lean into Jesus and reveal just how much we need His grace.
While we may not enjoy the benefits this side of heaven, we can be thankful anyway. Because one day, we will.
As Charlie Jones used to say, if nothing else we can always be thankful for the opportunity to be learning to be thankful.
What are you thankful for?
Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth. 