Often new Christians need instruction on how to thank God. Here’s what the Bible says. “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5.23). Notice that it doesn’t say to give thanks for every GOOD thing, or for every thing that we consider to be good. Here are a few examples of things that we’d rather not experience, but that God wants us to thank him for:
- Tribulations
- A fault-finding boss
- injuries, however minor or major
- Costly mistakes
- Car repairs
- Peeling paint
- Angry people
Why thank God for bad things?
What sense does it make to thank God for bad things like those in the list above? It’s simple when we read and really understand Galatians 8.28. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.“
Notice from that passage that it’s directed at Christians, and not unbelievers. For Christians, God’s promise in Galatians 8.28 is that he’s using everything that happens in their lives to accomplish something “good”. When we accept that by faith instead of chafing with grumblings and resistance, we open the way for his will to unfold in our lives. Remember that with God it’s first faith, and then understanding: Not the other way around.
Of the items on that list above, the Bible speaks to tribulations directly when it says, “tribulation works patience…” (Romans 5.3). Don’t be surprised when praying for patience to find the tribulations that follow!