“Be thankful for nothing and be worried about everything.” Fortunately, the Bible commands the opposite, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:4) Thankfulness and anxiety cannot coexist. They are opposite emotions. You cannot have thanksgiving and be full of care at the same time.
This Thanksgiving season we will either be spreading a spirit of thanksgiving or a spirit of anxiety and fear. Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan. All twelve saw the same thing: giants, walled cities, and fertile land. Two spies, Joshua and Caleb had a good report. They had “another spirit.” They had a thankful spirit. They rejoiced in the goodness of the God to deliver such a wonderful land into their hands. The Ten spies had an “evil report,” and like cancer their bleak outlook spread through the camp. They complained that the giants were too big, the walls to high, and they were too small. Forty years the congregation was doomed to wander the wilderness because of ten people and their unthankful spirit.
Many children, family members, and church people have died in the wilderness of life because of someone else’s evil report: A complaining Christian attacks the character and promises of God, complainers say in so many words, “God is not good.”. We must have “another spirit.” Philippians gives us three ways to have a spirit of thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Starts With Praise (Philippians 4:4)
“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
Thankfulness is a command. Rejoicing is not a response; it is a choice. Praising God is an act of our will.
“All things are to be received with thanksgiving” (I Tim. 4:4).
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; (Eph. 5:20)
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)
The puritan, Matthew Henry was robbed on his way to speak at church. He remembered the command to “give thanks always for all things.” Mr. Henry sat down and penned four reasons he was thankful for his robbery: 1) I have never been robbed before. 2) They took my wallet but not my life. 3) They took all my money but it wasn’t much 4) I was the one who was robbed and not the robber.
The Lord is the object of our thanksgiving. “Rejoice in the Lord!” As Christians we are not thankful to good luck or chance but to the living God. This is the reason why we can be thankful even in dark times because we know that the Lord is in charge.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalms 100:4)
Thanksgiving Continues by Being Poised. (Philippians 4:5)
“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” (Phil. 4:5)
Happiness is an inside job. To be a thankful person, we must let the Lord control our temperament. The word “moderation” in verse five means, “that which controls you.” For example, a “moderator” at a meeting is a person who controls the meeting. When the world sees us, they should see that we are being “moderated” by the Lord. When the Lord is in control of our life, we will be marked by thankfulness and peace.
Positioned in Christ’s Peace
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. (Col. 3:15)
The two good spies, Joshua and Caleb, had “another spirit.” They positioned themselves in the promises of God. They “Set your (their) affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3:2). Joshua and Caleb set their spiritual temperature like a thermostat. God controlled or moderated their hearts. The evil spies were thermometers not thermostats. The bad spies were controlled by the external elements. Be positioned in Christ’s peace. “Set our affections on things above,” and let “the peace of God rule in your hearts.”
Peace means, “inner tranquility, contentment, quietness, and rest.” There are certain things that we think we need to help make us not anxious or worried. Things that we think would bring a thanksgiving spirit. However, there are plenty of people in the world who already have all the stuff we think we need: health, money, job, security…and yet they are miserable. Real peace does not come from below but has a super natural source from above. This is why it is called, “The peace that passes understanding.” This peace is supernatural from the Prince of Peace.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
Positioned In Christ’s Presence.
“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” (Phil. 4:5)
“The Lord is at hand!” Christ is ever present. This is His promise to us. He is not a God who is far off but a God at hand (Jer. 23:23). To have thanksgiving we must claim this promise and live in the light of its reality. To count the Lord “at hand” or present with us is to have thanksgiving.
There will never be a time in this fallen world where everything externally is absolutely “ok.” But peace is not the absence of trouble it is the presence of Christ.
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)
But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)
“Gratitude never comes from avoiding difficulty, but from finding yourself sustained through it.” – Randy Alcorn.
Thanksgiving Finishes With Prayer (Philippians 4:6)
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Philippians 4:6)
Verse six in reverse states, “Be thankful for nothing but be careful about all things.” Or “Be prayerful for nothing but be careful about all things.” Anxiety and worry can take your heart captive and leave you prayerless. Anxiety says, “You can’t trust God and It all depends on you.” This is an anti-thanksgiving attitude. Scripture here instructs us rather to turn our cares into prayers.
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (I Peter 5:7)
We Should Have Trusting Prayers.
Our requests are to be made known unto God in prayer. We are to offload daily and moment by moment our many burdens to the Lord in prayer. “I trust you Lord with this burden.”
We Should Have Thankful Prayers.
We are to pray with thanksgiving because the Lord hears and answers us. “Thank you for sustaining me.” “Thank you for delivering me.” “Thank you for answering my prayer.”
Philippians, “The epistle of joy,” was written by the Apostle Paul from prison. The church in Philippi knew that the Apostle practiced what he preached. The Philippian jailor witnessed Paul and Silas whipped and imprisoned for the faith after casting a demon out of a fortune teller. With bloody beaten backs the men were placed in stocks for the night. Instead of complaining, the two missionaries had thanksgiving: “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” (Acts 16:25). The two were praising, poised, and prayerful in their thanksgiving. They “rejoiced in the Lord always,” “their moderation was made known unto all men,” and they “Prayed with prayer and supplication.” The result? The Philippian jailor was converted (“What must I do to be saved?”), they were set free, and the church grew in number and in the faith.