“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20)
Being thankful for everything that happens in his or her life to a Christian believer is listed in this section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as one of the evidences that a Christian is indeed “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
That is not all. Not only for everything, but in everything we should give thanks to God. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). These two commands are easy to obey when the living is easy, as the song says, though we might easily forget to do so. But when the Lord is allowing us to hurt for a while, thanksgiving becomes hard. It is hard while we are experiencing the difficulty and just as hard when it has passed with no relief in sight. The two small prepositions “in” and “for” are different in New Testament Greek as well as in modern English, and God really wants us to learn how to thank Him both during and after the hard experience.
Because He has allowed it for a good purpose! The apostle James urges us to “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (that is, “various testings”); “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:3-4). Paul says that we can even “glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:3-5). Patience and real love will come to characterize a habitually thankful Christian. HMM
Adapted from Dr. Morris’ Days of Praise devotional “Thanks for Everything.” Originally posted on November 25, 2004.
*Dr. Morris (1918-2006) was Founder of the Institute for Creation Research.
Thanks for Everything
More Oceans
Plate Beneath China Verifies Rapid Subduction
Scientists have identified a large slab of cold oceanic lithosphere1 dipping far beneath China.2 The newly imaged plate is presumably...
How Algae Do Fine When Tossed at Sea
How would you do if someone spun you around every few seconds all day long? Marine algae repeatedly get tossed about in coastal surf, and they cope quite...
Jellyfish Serves Variety of Venoms in Stinging Cocktail
Chinese researchers recently reported on venomous toxins of the giant jellyfish. They revealed that this aquatic creature mixes a “cocktail”...
More Zoology
Sunflower Heliotropism: August Sunlight for Making Tons.,.
August is an important month for sunflowers—those gigantic, bright-yellow flowers with brownish, round seed heads bordered by radiating yellow ligules...
We Still Can’t Determine the Sex of Dinosaurs
Recently, a new study led by Queen Mary University of London concluded that dinosaur bones tell us little about their sexes.1 In the past, secular...
New Evidence Hurts Feathered Dinosaur Theory
Is a dinosaur still a dinosaur if it has flight feathers? A new study points to some fascinating evidence that contradicts the idea of feathered dinosaurs...
More Science
Rare 'Christmas Star' Conjunction
On December 21 about an hour before sunset, the planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear very close together low in the western sky in a celestial event...
Pangolins Protected from Use in Oriental Medicine
Pangolins just received an odd form of political protection.1
Found in southeast Asia and Africa, these creatures look like a cross between...
Saharan Dust Cloud Strikes United States
Recently, the southeastern United States was hit by a huge cloud of dust from the Sahara desert that drifted across the Atlantic Ocean. A second such cloud...
More God's Design Is an Engineering Wonder
God’s Plan Is Best: Salmon Need Saltwater Acclimation
Once again, results are better when aquaculture imitates the natural life cycle of Atlantic salmon.1,2 In other words, the closer fish farmers...
Bacteria Make Good Linguists and Electricians
Our scientific forefathers thought of germs as simple living things. They were oh, so wrong. Apparently, when it comes to living things, small does...
Belugas Select Friends Who Aren’t Close Kin
Beluga whales don’t select their friends according to what Darwinists would expect, a new Florida Atlantic University study shows.1,2...
More Living Creatures Were Clearly Designed
Sorghum and Bacteria Cooperative Design
The drought tolerance of a popular grain, sorghum, makes it an important global food crop. A recent study finds that sorghum manipulates soil conditions...
Glow-in-the-Dark Creatures Show Off on Warm July Nights
In America, the month of July is accompanied by fireworks, even in the heavens.1 However, July is also a time when certain glow-in-the-dark...
Cells and Designers Both Use Control Theory
New research goes a long way in explaining how creatures actively sense their environment and adapt to it. One mechanism enables some organisms to track...
More Living Creatures Were Equipped to Adapt
Young Coral Reefs, Quick-Growing at Low-Sunlight Depths
Recent research surprises those who study coral reefs, especially those who assume that they grow slowly.1,2
To the surprise of old-earth...
Jungle Biodiversity Discoveries in Perilous Times
An ancient city found deep in a Central American rainforest yields a surprising discovery.
A recent BBC report earlier this month is revising assumptions...
Protein Discovery Confirms Design
Fungal infections can be a pain to eradicate. But new results show why these infections can take an even tighter hold on people or animals that are...
More Design Found in Nature Inspires Innovation
Ant Behavior Informs Computer Search Algorithms
The social behavior of ants continues to amaze scientists with its complexity and efficiency of organization and design. In a new study, scientists have...
Butterfly Wing Design Repudiates Evolution
The takeoff and flight of butterflies has long been derided by evolutionists as being an unstable and inefficient product of evolution. However, a new...
Albatrosses Aid Law Enforcement
Recently, albatrosses were used for a surprising and unintended purpose: catching criminals.1,2
On behalf of BBC News, Samantha Patrick reported...
More Creation Science Update
Manganese Nodules Inconsistent with Radiometric Dating
Pellets (or nodules) composed of various metals, such as manganese and iron, often litter the ocean floor. These nodules form when chemicals dissolved...
Anti-Gravity Water Transport in Trees
Transporting water up a tree ten stories high from the roots to the leaves is no easy feat. How is this accomplished? The answer lies in tiny, specially...
Fruit Fly Smell via Incredible Nanopore System
By Frank Sherwin and Jeffrey Tomkins
Fruit flies have been the foundational invertebrate of biology research for decades. Not only do they resist change,...
The Latest
Inside August 2021 Acts & Facts
Can a merciful God create parasites? How do diamonds confirm biblical history? Why won't the gospel die? And why is consensus thinking anti-science?...
Creation Kids: Testing the Limits
Christy Hardy and Susan Windsor*
You’re never too young to be a creation scientist! Kids, discover fun facts about God’s creation with...
Be Blessed
During the days of Jesus, being blessed had a different meaning from what Christians understand it to mean today. The Theological Dictionary of the...
APOLOGETICS
Should Creationists Brook Loss of a Trout?
Should a freshwater stream be restored to make it habitable for a failing fish population such as brook trout?1 It makes sense that creationists...
Can a Merciful God Create Parasites?
Sir David Attenborough of BBC fame is regularly asked by Christians why he will not give credit to God for the amazing creatures featured on his nature...
Why Won't the Gospel Die?
Soon after the gospel first emerged, ancient Rome tried to exterminate whoever believed it. They tortured and murdered early Christians, but that didn’t...
Crater of Diamonds State Park and the Origin of Diamonds
At Crater of Diamonds State Park in western Arkansas, families dig diamonds for fun while more serious sifters seek sensational paydays. Countless brides...
Man: Smart from the Start
People have been created with a three-pound brain that scientists will never fully understand. Evolutionists have tried to trace the evolution of the...
The Fossils Still Say No: Jostle in the Jurassic
The Jurassic system of the geologic column is an enigma to evolutionists because it represents a continuance of many life forms found buried below in...
The Tyranny of Consensus Thinking
How can so many scientists be wrong?” This question is routinely wielded as real evidence for evolution. I’ve heard it in discussions with...