In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
[1 Thessalonians 5:18]
In a very practical section of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he encourages his readers to give thanks in everything. In the context, he had exhorted them to rejoice always (verse 16) and to pray without ceasing (verse 17). These are characteristics of a person who is encouraged and growing in his or her faith. The first two are easy enough to understand—being joyful and prayerful are not complex ideas. But Paul’s instruction that the Thessalonian believers should give thanks in everything presents a unique challenge.
It is worth noting that Paul doesn’t tell them to give thanks for everything. The preposition used in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 is the Greek en, which is best translated by the English preposition in. Paul isn’t telling them they must be thankful for the difficulties they were encountering; instead, he is challenging them to be thankful in any circumstance. Paul recognized that the secret of contentment isn’t found in circumstances. Rather, there is contentment in recognizing it is Christ who strengthens us for whatever we might face.
It is clear from scripture, that God allows things in our lives to help us grow to be more like Christ. If God works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) and that good is that we would be more like Christ (verse 29), then we can expect that He even uses hardship in our lives to help shape us to be more like Him. Because He works for that purpose in our lives, we can be filled with gratitude, knowing that there is purpose even in the difficulties we can’t understand.
If we have this kind of big-picture perspective, we can give thanks in everything because we understand how God is using those things in our lives to grow us now and in the future. There is power in understanding what God has revealed about how He causes us to grow. His methods may be painful at times (see Hebrews 12:7–11), but the outcome is the peaceful fruit of righteousness. When our perspective is informed by His Word, giving thanks in everything makes perfect sense.