Give Thanks Always Philippians 1:2-5

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18, NASB).

Thanksgiving Day is not a Christian Holiday. Wait a minute! Did I hear you say that Thanksgiving Day is not a Christian Holiday? Yes, I said that and let me explain what I mean. Thanksgiving Day is not a celebration or feast day found in the bible. It is not a day that came into existence through the Christian church. Thanksgiving Day is a holiday or a day set aside by the civil authorities in America. Over the years the dates have been changed and the dates have varied from state to state. However, the Scriptures do tell Christians to be thankful. Our lives are to be saturated with thanksgiving to God. Regardless of the situations that we find ourselves in we are to give thanksgiving to God. In this article we want to examine some of the writings of the apostle Paul as he expresses his views on thanksgiving.

We begin with Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. When Paul writes this letter he is in prison in Rome. He has been sent to Rome by the Roman governor Festus because he appealed to Caesar, having been accused of crimes by the leaders of the Jews (Acts 25:11; 26:32; 28:19). After a salutation to the church Paul writes, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as it is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater” (Phil. 1:3, NASB). As we read through the remainder of this epistle and other writings of Paul we discover that Paul gives us reasons to give thanks always. In no particular order we want to mention reasons to give thanks to God regardless of what is taking place in our life.

First, we give thanks to God because we submit to His sovereignty. We know that God has the right to do what God wants to do. God does not need permission from any other power or authority. God acts on His word. God has sworn to God’s self what God intends to do. God’s power cannot be challenged. One example is found in the Book of Hebrews. The writer is encouraging a persecuted church to hold to their faith in Jesus and to continue the work and love they have shown to His name (Heb. 6:10). The writer reminds the church that they are a part of the fulfillment of God’s promise made to Abraham. He writes, “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself” (6:13, NASB). Thus we give thanks because we believe what God says. Our faith is in God because we “believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (11:6).

A second reason that we pray with thanksgiving is that it allows us to focus on God more than the situation. When Paul writes his letter to the Philippians he writes, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phil. 1:3-5, NASB). Paul thanks God. God is at the center of Paul’s life. God is using the church to help advance the gospel. The people are important because they believe in Jesus and their faith motivates them to assist the apostle in his efforts to advance the gospel that leads to salvation. Paul writes, “For it is only right for me to feel this way about you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me” (v. 7, NASB).

We pray with thanksgiving because our hope is in the Lord. In particular, the Christian’s hope is in the resurrection of Jesus. We have hope because we believe the Gospel. The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ fulfills the promise spoken of by the prophets that the Messiah will come and restore all things unto God. Jesus is the One that God sends into the world to die by crucifixion on the cross for our sins. The blood that He shed cleanses us from all sins so that we can be reunited to our Holy Father. After His resurrection Jesus returns to the Father. Our hope is that the resurrected Jesus will return and restore all of creation to God (see Rom. 8:19-25).

A fourth reason that we pray with thanksgiving is that we believe that God is present with us. God does not do all things for us. God allows us to learn how to do some things on our own. Yet, God is right there with us. He encourages us. He gives hints and clues as we struggle to accomplish things. I remember the first time that I attempted to drive the car. Dad got into the car and said to me “’let’s go.” While driving down the road I ran off the road. This scared me, but dad was in the car. He did not take over. He calmly gave me instructions on what I needed to do to get the car back on the road. I felt confident because daddy was present with me.

Paul gives us a fifth reason to pray with thanksgiving. God’s power is in us. We have not the strength and the ability of our own to do the work that He calls us to do. Paul writes, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6, NASB). The work of the Christian is not something that is initiated by the person. Rather, God initiates the work in us. God gives us the reason to work. He gives us the ability to do the work. We are confident that He is with us now to supply our every need, and he will be with us until the work is done.

We give thanks to God because God works through us. When Jesus is preparing His disciples for His return to the Father, He tells them that they have work to do. The work will not be easy. Although Jesus will not be with them in the physical realm He will do His work through them. He says to them, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:4-5, NASB). As Jesus is about to board the clouds to heaven He gives the disciples these final words. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NASB).

Finally, we pray with thanksgiving because we trust God to provide for our needs. God provides for our needs both physically and spiritually. In his letter to the church at Philippi Paul commends the church for their support of the ministry. In Philippians 4:10-18 Paul thanks the church for their support in regards to his physical needs. The church had been concerned about Paul but they lacked the opportunity to support him (v. 10). This church had always shared with Paul in his affliction v. 14). Paul writes, “But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God” (4:18, NASB).

In chapter three Paul writes that God sustains him spiritually. Paul has a rich pedigree according to the flesh (3:3-6). However, he places no confidence in the flesh. He gives up the gains of the flesh in order to gain the things of the Spirit. He writes, “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (v. 8). Our spiritual needs are to be given priority in our lives. “for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even subjected all things to Himself” (3:20-21).