Give Thanks in All Circumstances?
Elizabeth Turnage, Guest Writer
TODAY’S TREASURE
Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV).
Is that really possible? To “give thanks in all circumstances”? As author Ann Voskamp asks, “How do I see grace, give thanks, find joy in this sin-stinking place?” When we suffer profound loss, it can seem impossible to give thanks. And yet, the apostle Paul believes we not only can but we must.
It’s not as if the apostle Paul was sitting on silky sand drinking a piña colada when he wrote these words. The apostle Paul suffered imprisonments, shipwrecks, beatings, betrayal, poverty, and mockery, among other miseries. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul describes a cycle of glory, grief, grace, gratitude, and glory. This cycle is what compels him to give thanks, even in dire circumstances.
Paul first explains what God has already done: revealed his glory in Christ. When Christ suffered on the cross, he aroused our hearts, enabling us to see the glory of God shining in the darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6). Because his light now shines in our hearts, our response to a crisis is transformed. We are…
“Squeezed but not squashed
Bewildered but not befuddled
Pursued but not abandoned
Knocked down but not knocked out…” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Notice that Paul neither ignores his suffering nor minimizes it. He names the severity: he felt squeezed, bewildered, pursued, knocked down. And yet, he sees hope in the midst of his suffering, because he sees how other people are being affected. Other people are coming to know God’s grace, and because they are, they are giving thanks to God: “And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving….” And as more and more people give thanks to God, more and more people give glory to God (2 Corinthians 4:15 NLT).
Paul thanks God even in the midst of grief because he sees God multiplying the good news in the hearts of many. Paul can also thank God in the midst of grief because he looks toward the as-yet-unseen day when we will be wholly restored: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16 NLT). Paul sees not only his body wasting away, but his sinful self being deconstructed, while his inner self is being reconstructed in the image of Christ. And for that, he is also profoundly grateful.
In the stress, the confusion, and even the agony of a current crisis, keep thanking God. Thank him for the glory he has already revealed to you in Christ, for his revelation of that glory to others, and for the weight of the glory to come. As Paul tells us, that glory will far outweigh “these light and momentary troubles” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Prayer
Glorious God, thank you for revealing your glory to us. Help us to see the light of Christ shining in the darkness of disaster. Multiply gratitude in our hearts and in the hearts of others in this season. In Jesus’ glorious name. Amen.
Further Encouragement
Listen to “10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman.
For Reflection
Make a list of things you are grateful for today. Consider keeping a gratitude journal for a week or a month.
Excerpt from Recovery to Restoration: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace and Hope in Crisis, by Elizabeth Turnage; used with permission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Elizabeth Turnage, writer, story coach, teacher, and the founder of Living Story ministries (https://www.elizabethturnage.com/). She is passionate about helping people learn, live, and love in God’s story of grace. A blogger and the author of three Bible studies published by P&R Publishing, she is a popular conference and retreat speaker. Elizabeth is married to an orthopedic surgeon, Kip Turnage, and they have four adult children, plus three added by marriage. They are also the devoted “parents” of their personal therapy dog, Rosie.
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iii Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 125.
vi R. Kent Hughes, 2 Corinthians: Power in Weakness (Wheaton: Crossway, 2006), 99.
v Ibid.
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Originally published Thursday, 07 July 2022.
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