GIVING THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

It has been a little over a year since my Aunt Dorothy died. She was the last relative of my parent’s generation. Dorothy and her husband never had any children so their nieces and nephews were very special to them. Dorothy lived to be 104 years old. For some, living that long would be challenging. For Dorothy it was in some respects, as I remember her saying that she really had to work hard on staying focused on the “here and now;" it was so much easier to drift into the past. Yet, even with this struggle she gave thanks for God for each day and for the people in the care center who provided her care and security. She was like that. I would describe her as a thankful person. What a wonderful legacy to leave, that of being thankful. Her dying words to her nieces and nephews who gathered at her bedside were, “Love everyone, and be thankful.”

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. 
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. (I Thessalonians 5:16-24) 

“Give thanks in all circumstances” the Apostle Paul proclaims to the people of Thessalonica. The proclamation is just as important for us to hear today as it was for our ancestors. Give thanks! 
It has been a little over a year since my Aunt Dorothy died. She was the last relative of my parent’s generation. Dorothy and her husband never had any children so their nieces and nephews were very special to them. Dorothy lived to be 104 years old. For some, living that long would be challenging. For Dorothy it was in some respects, as I remember her saying that she really had to work hard on staying focused on the “here and now;" it was so much easier to drift into the past. Yet, even with this struggle she gave thanks for God for each day and for the people in the care center who provided her care and security. She was like that. I would describe her as a thankful person. What a wonderful legacy to leave, that of being thankful. Her dying words to her nieces and nephews who gathered at her bedside were, “Love everyone, and be thankful.” 
Recently I visited a woman who had memory issues and needed 24-hour nursing care. In her healthy days, it was apparent that she was a very thankful person. Thankful in all situations. She regularly saw the good as well as the difficult, but it was the good that sustained her, and she praised God for it. Today as she sits in her room looking out the window in a different town than she has ever lived before, she is thankful. Thankful for her caregivers, thankful for family, thankful to God. As her memory is diminished her thankfulness is as clear as it has ever been. 
Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians addresses first of all how they serve as excellent role models of faith to all believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. Yet even though they have a strong faith, they are troubled. They recall Jesus’ declaration that “this generation will not pass away until all these things of taken place.” (Mark 13:30), and they wonder what will happen to their loved ones who have died. The end times have not arrived yet, Jesus the Christ has not returned and yet “this generation” is passing away. As they walk to the burial places of their loved ones they wonder if Jesus has forsaken them. 
And so they wonder, will we see Jesus’ return? They wondered how they can rejoice in the Lord when they are grieving? How can they trust that Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” when people are dying. 
Paul reassures them that they are not being ignored or forgotten and confirms that those who have died will be the first to be raised by God when Christ returns in glory. So, they need not be afraid or discouraged. Instead, Paul concludes the letter with the verses above. “Give thanks in all circumstances.” 
What a great reminder to us, in these challenging times, that there is always something in every circumstance for which we can give thanks. Today, your pain may be great as you grieve, or as you deal with trying circumstances, but today is truly a time to rejoice, and give thanks for the great gift God has given us through Jesus, the Word made flesh who dwells among us each and every moment of each day.  
​In Christ, 
Pastor Pam Schroeder