The Connection Between Thankfulness and Peace
Do you have peace because you’re thankful, or are you thankful because you have peace?
This is not exactly a spiritual version of the “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” question, but it is worth considering: Which comes first in my life: peace or thanksgiving?
The relationship between thankfulness and peace struck me recently as I was reading Philippians 4:6-7:
“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7).
If you follow the sequence of Paul’s instructions, we first of all pray with an attitude of thanksgiving. Then God responds with a peace that we can’t even imagine.
Bu the thanksgiving noted in this passage is deeper than the way we often pray. We typically thank God for our family, food, and football team, but then we change gears and lay a bunch of requests at His feet. That’s perfectly fine, but let me stress again: Paul was calling us to pray on a deeper level, one that calls for faith. We are to thank God for His answer to the very thing we are laying at His feet. We don’t have the answer yet, and we may not know how or when He’s going to answer. But in faith, we know He’s going to answer.
“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).
“This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
When we pray with Christ-centered confidence, we can thank Him before we ever see the answer. And that confidence leads us to peace. We rest peacefully knowing God will answer.
It’s clear, then, that we have peace because we are thankful. But the other half of my question is also true. We can be thankful because we have peace. When we rest in Christ and the peace He supplies, we can’t help but be thankful. We are thankful for His presence. We are thankful for His peace in the midst of the day’s storm (or storms). Resting in peace opens our eyes to all the things we have in Him—and we are thankful. The more at rest we are in God’s peace, the more thankful we are.
During this season of Thanksgiving, it’s easy to be thankful for the things right in front of you. But also be thankful for the-yet-to-be-seen answers to your prayers. He will answer out of His goodness and grace, so trust that and rest in Him. And let the peace of Christ invade your celebration of Thanksgiving.
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This post supports the study “The God Who Rescues” in Bible Studies for Life and YOU.
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