Be Thankful
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“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
-- I Thessalonians 5:18
Gratitude is considered to be one of the most powerful human emotions, as it enhances emotional wellbeing, increases positive emotions, reduces stress, promotes resilience, improves relationships and increase life satisfaction.
Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, includes the instruction to give thanks in all circumstances. He said that it is the will of God in Christ Jesus to be grateful.
Let us reflect on an example in the Bible of people who struggled with ingratitude and then consider the consequences or the results. Israel as a nation, goes on record historically, as one of the people who showed the greatest levels of ingratitude. In the book of Exodus, we learned about the suffering of the Jews in Egypt after Joseph’s death and the rise of a new Pharaoh. He was threatened by their expansion and commanded the midwives to kill the male children of the Jewish women. God helped the women to have ease in childbirth and the midwives feared God, so the children were spared. He then commanded all the male children to be thrown into the river. God spared Moses and allowed him to grow up in Pharaoh’s house to become the deliverer of Israel.
Moses’s journey took him into the wilderness for 40 years as an adult, until God sent him back to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. God used Moses to display signs, wonders and miracles in Egypt, until Pharaoh had no choice but to release the people. On their way to the promised land, God caused Pharaoh to become hardened, so that he pursued the Israelites up to the Red Sea. When they saw Pharaoh and his army approaching, they accused Moses of taking them out of Egypt to have them killed in the wilderness. “Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness’” (Exodus 14:12). Moses managed to tune out the people and listened to the voice of God and got instructions about what to do. He stretched his rod over the water, caused it to part, led them to safety and Pharaoh’s army all drowned as they pursued.
Most people would assume that the ten plagues, their deliverance and the miracle at the Red Sea, would cause the people to fear God. I would assume that this should have demonstrated to them, that God was with them, he was fighting for them and would never leave them alone. Time and time again the Jews tempted Moses and angered God, whenever they faced any challenge. They cried about their need for water, they cried for food, they cried about meat and even made a golden calf to worship, when Moses went into the mountain to speak to God. Over and over again they provoked the wrath of God and on many occasions, Moses had to intercede to stop God from destroying them. “Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?" (Exodus 32:11) The final straw was their display of rebellion against Moses and against God after the spies brought back an evil report about the land.
They threatened to stone Moses and Aaron, appoint for themselves a new leader and return to Egypt. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11) God threatened to strike them with pestilence, disinherited them and raised up a nation greater than them. Moses interceded for the people and pleaded with God to forgive them and spare them. God agreed to spare them, but He promised that they would not see the promised land, except Joshua and Caleb who brought back a good report about the land. They were to turn and stay in the wilderness by the Red Sea. Once Moses told them God’s decision, they then decided to go up in their own strength to try to enter the promised land. This attempt was futile as they were attacked and driven back into the wilderness. The children of those who rebelled would go in and inherit the promised land, after their parents were deceased.
As we read the story of the Jews, it’s easy for us to marvel at their disbelief, despite the number of signs and miracles that God displayed to them. I think that we all have that Israelite mentality in us and our memories can often be selective during times of difficulty. We have all experienced the love and grace of God and have witnessed miracles, provision, breakthroughs. Trials often bring out the worst in us and it’s easy to go into a place of doubt and murmur and even complain against God. Many people have turned from following God because they prayed one prayer that wasn’t answered. What if we recalled every miracle and kept a written record of every time God answered a prayer? Science is now able to corroborate the fact that gratitude benefits our physical and emotional health. Even then, the Bible is always well ahead of science and when Paul said, ‘give thanks in all circumstances,’ it is because gratitude can extend and improve your life and strengthen our faith in God.
Questions for Reflection:
1. Are you able to think of five things that you are grateful for today?
2. Do you feel motivated to help people who show little or no gratitude?
3. Why do you think it is so easy to forget our blessings and to worry when things go wrong?
