Scripture Reading: Romans 1:18-23 

One of the quickest ways to get a new perspective on life is by giving thanks―by taking a few minutes to thank God for the things in your life for which you are truly grateful.  But giving thanks doesn’t always come naturally.

You can sometimes get so caught up in the heat of the battles you’re facing that all of your thoughts, prayers and attention are focused on the battles only.  Then, when you get so consumed by the battles that you stop giving thanks for the good things that are happening in your life, you head down a path that can lead to destruction.

I’ve heard it said that “rebellion against God doesn’t begin with a clenched fist, but with a heart that refuses to give thanks.”

When you stop giving thanks for the things in your lives that are good and meaningful to you, you can oftentimes find yourself slipping into anger and frustration with the world—and with the God who created it.  Your fists may begin to clench and you may feeling like rebelling against anything else that God might want to say to you, or want you to do.

The Apostle Paul cited this refusal to give thanks as the beginning of the end for the citizens of Rome, as many people there were already engaging in all kinds of evil.  He said:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness… For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:18, 21).

If it feels like your thinking has become futile and your heart seems to have darkened, perhaps it’s time to reverse that cycle by giving thanks.

In her book, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells the story of a time when she and her sister were in a concentration camp in Germany during the Holocaust.  When they were thrown into a bunkhouse that was infected with fleas, her sister remembered that they needed to give thanks in all circumstances―even for the fleas.  But Corrie said it was too much.  She said, “There’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”

But as the weeks went on, she discovered that the women in her barracks were being given an unusual amount of freedom.  They could read to each other from a Bible they had hidden, and they could  pray with one another.  One day they discovered why when Betsy overheard the guards say that they wouldn’t step foot into their barracks.  Why not?  “That place is crawling with fleas!” the guard said.  It was then that Corrie remembered her sister’s prayers of thanks even for the fleas.

The movie, Fireproof, also talks about the importance of giving thanks.  The story is about a fireman whose wife wants out of their marriage.  She’s fed up with him, and he’s equally fed up with her.  But as they head towards divorce, the fireman’s father steps in and challenges his son to try something he calls “The Love Dare” for forty days.  He hands his son a hand-written journal in which he’s written specific steps the son can take each day to try to repair his relationship with his wife.

After 20 frustrating days of trying to do it on his own, the fireman has a heartfelt conversation with his dad.  His dad encourages him to put His faith in Christ and ask Him for help, but the son refuses, saying he doesn’t need a crutch to get through life.  The dad responds by saying that Jesus is more than just a crutch―He’s the most significant part of his life.  The son still doesn’t get it, so the dad continues:

DAD:  “If I ask you why you’re so frustrated with Catherine, what would you say?”

SON:  “She’s stubborn.  She makes everything difficult for me.  She’s ungrateful.  She’s constantly griping about something.”

DAD:  “Has she thanked you the last 20 days?”

SON:  “No.  And you’d think after I washed the car, I’ve changed the oil, do the dishes, clean the house, that she would try to show me a little bit of gratitude.  Well, she doesn’t.  That is what really ticks me off.  Dad, for the last three weeks, I have bent over backwards for her.  I have tried to demonstrate that I still care about this relationship.  I bought her flowers, which she threw away.  I have taken her insults and her sarcasm, but last night was it.  I made dinner for her, I did everything I could to demonstrate that I care about her, to show value for her, and she spat in my face.  She does not deserve this, Dad.  I am not doing it anymore.  How am I supposed to show love to somebody over and over and over who constantly rejects me?”

DAD:  “That’s a good question.”

SON: (after a long pause) “Dad, that is not what I’m doing.”

DAD:  “Isn’t it?  Son, you just asked me: ‘How can someone show love over and over again when they’re constantly rejected?’  You can’t love her, because you can’t give her what you don’t have.”

You’ll have to see the movie to find out how it ends.  But the Dad made his point:  What does it feel like to God, when He shows His love to us over and over and over again, yet we refuse to, or forget to, or get so overwhelmed with life that we no longer want to give Him thanks?

For me, I’ve found it helpful to be intentional about giving thanks to God.  I keep a prayer journal handy and try to write in it at least every few days.  I used to begin by writing down all the prayers that were on my heart, which felt good to get them down on paper.  But I began to realize that I wasn’t taking as much time to stop and give thanks to God for all the prayers that He had already answered.

So I changed my approach several years ago and began starting every entry with these words, “Father, thank You…” and then listing something for which I am sincerely thankful, something specific that has happened in the past day or two, or even those things that were particularly hard or challenging, but that I was trying to view from God’s perspective to see how He might be using them for good.

I’ve found that as I start my prayer time with thanks, it changes the rest of my prayer time.  I now have more expectancy, more eagerness to see how God might answer my prayers, and more hope that God really can bring something good out of even the bad things that I might be facing.

Rather than waiting to see how things turn out before I thank God for them, I’ve found it much better to thank Him up front.

I remember eating an incredible fish dinner up in Boise, Idaho one time on a business trip.  Our hosts had taken us out to a fancy restaurant.  I’m sure it was the best fish I had ever eaten.  After the meal, when the waitress came to our table to ask how everything was, I could hardly contain myself in thanking her for the great meal.

But as I was thanking her, I realized that she didn’t cook the fish, she just brought it to the table, so I asked her to please give my thanks to the chef.  But as she walked away, I realized that the chef didn’t make the fish, he just prepared it.  The one I really needed to thank was God who created the fish!  So before I got up from the table, I said a heartfelt prayer of thanks, saying, “Thank You, Lord, for this food!”

Then it hit me.  Wasn’t that the same prayer I said before I ate it:  “Thank You Lord, for this food”?  But somehow it meant so much more to me now that I realized it really had come from Him!  I made a mental note that the next time I prayed before a meal, I’d try to make it just as heartfelt as I felt that day afterwards.

It reminded me of the prayer that Jesus prayed before His meal with over 5,000 people on the hillside in Galilee, when all He had was two loaves of bread and five pieces of fish.  The Bible says:

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over” (Matthew 14:19b-21).

Jesus could have waited till the end of the meal to give thanks for His Father’s incredible provision, but He didn’t.  He gave thanks up front, even though the meal in front of Him may have looked quite meager.  His Father in heaven took His prayer of thanks and super-sized their meal right in front of their eyes!

You don’t have to wait to give thanks to God till you see the answers to your prayers.  Give thanks to Him up front for what you have been given, and trust Him to take the next step.

The Romans, because of their refusal to give thanks to God, found that their thinking had become futile and their hearts were darkened.  If you want your thoughts to be more purposeful and your hearts to become brighter, do what Paul suggested:  begin by giving thanks to God.

Come to the Father today with your prayers.  Come to Him with thanksgiving in your heart.  Thank Him for those things in your life for which you’re truly grateful.  Thank Him for those things―even fleas―that may be hard to give thanks for right now, but which God can use in your life for good.  And thank Him for the answers to your prayers that haven’t even come yet, but by faith you believe will come in a way that goes beyond all you can ask or imagine.

Let God renew your mind today by giving thanks to Him.

Will you pray with me?

Father, thank You for the answers to so many prayers that we have prayed in the past.  Thank You for those things which we’re struggling through today, for as hard as they may seem, we trust that You can work all things for good, for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose.  Thank You in advance for the answers to prayer that are yet to come.  We trust that You can super-size those answers in just the right way and at just the right time.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. Read Romans 1:18-23.  What did Paul say happened to the thinking of those who refused to give glory and thanks to God?

2. Why do you think their refusal to give thanks caused them to fall into some of the sins listed in this passage?

3. According to verse 32, what is the ultimate outcome for those who head down this path?

4. What are some things in your life for which you can truly give thanks to God?