What Have You Thanked God For?

They took the stone away.  Jesus looked up and said, “I thank you, Father, that you listen to me.” 

John 11:41

Jesus showed up to heal his friend, whom He loved (John 11:3).  When he arrived he was told that Lazarus was already dead, in fact, he was already placed in his grave 4 days earlier.  There were many people who were weeping and wailing, mourning the loss of Lazarus, with his sisters, Mary and Martha.  When Jesus saw them he was deeply troubled and He wept (John 11:35).  Martha took Jesus to her brother’s grave as they rolled the stone away Jesus thanked God.  

I’d imagine some of you can put yourself in Jesus’ sandals.  Most of us have experienced the great sadness of losing a beloved friend or family member.  I wonder, though, how many of us have thanked God in the midst of our loss?  

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Jesus loved his friend and he wasn’t thanking God for Lazarus’ death but thanking God for what He was about to do.  In the same way we are to thank God in everything.  Not for everything, but in every situation we are to give thanks for the work that God will do for us and through us.  We are told to give God thanks for carrying us through our mess and giving us overwhelming victory in the end.  Often times we confuse this scripture with thanking God for our problems.  While that is fine in some instances, there are other times when giving thanks for the untimely death of a friend, being thankful for a horrible car crash or thanking God for your loss of a job just sounds crazy.  And it is!  We aren’t expected to enjoy these unfortunate circumstances in our lives, but we are expected to trust God to carry us through and thank Him for the good He promises to make from it.  We don’t have to like what is happening to us but we do have to believe that God is in control and thank Him for using our circumstance to bring Glory to His name.  

Change your perspective on giving God thanks in everything.  From now on don’t ignore this scripture because you aren’t happy about your situation.  Stand up and thank God because you can!  Thank Him because He knows what’s best and He wants nothing more than to make everything good for you and those you love.