“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV)

We have so much to be thankful for, it can be difficult to know where to start offering our praise and gratitude to our heavenly Father. Certainly, we all have stories of how God came through for us during a major crisis in our life. But there are countless “minor” blessings that we enjoy every day that shouldn’t go unnoticed—or unmentioned in our prayers of thankfulness.

In her remarkable book The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom relates an amazing story about the importance of being thankful. Corrie and her sister Betsie were held in a concentration camp known as Ravensbrück, where they lived in barracks that were plagued by fleas. Fleas were everywhere—in their beds, in their clothes, in their hair, and on their bodies. One day Betsie told Corrie that they needed to give thanks for the fleas.

Corrie thought Betsie had gone too far. She couldn’t imagine thanking God for fleas. But Betsie insisted, reminding her sister that the Bible says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV). Still, Corrie didn’t want to thank God for the fleas. But as it turned out, Corrie and Betsie were trying to reach the other women in their barracks with the message of the gospel. They had been holding Bible studies, which was forbidden in the camp. They found out later that because of the fleas, the guards would not go into their barracks. That allowed the sisters to hold their Bible studies with no fear of being discovered. As a result, they had the freedom to minister to their fellow prisoners.

One obvious takeaway from this story is that God can use even fleas to accomplish His work. A less obvious takeaway is that we should do a major expansion of our concept of things to give thanks for.

If the Bible said, “In some things give thanks,” I would say, “No problem there!” But it says, “In every thing give thanks.” And that’s not an easy thing to do. We’re conditioned to say thank you for things that obviously benefit us. We treat gratitude as part of a transaction. You do something nice for me, and I say something nice to you.

But that’s not what God is looking for. That’s not what the apostle Paul is saying in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. God wants us to maintain a spirit of thankfulness that isn’t dimmed when things don’t go our way. He wants us to recognize the endless supply of things we can and should be grateful for.

The verse doesn’t say we should give thanks for every thing; it says we should give thanks in every thing. We don’t have to be glad or thankful that tragedies occur. But we can be thankful that, in spite of the tragedy, God is still on the throne, and He is still in control of all circumstances that surround our lives.

Reflection question: What common, daily blessings are you thankful for?

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“The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” (John 15:19 NLT)

God is faithful. As with some of His other attributes, His faithfulness isn’t always apparent to us. Sometimes His ways seem harsh, but if we trust in Him, eventually, we will recognize the unshakable faithfulness behind them.

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8–9 NLT).

We can’t always trust our feelings when it comes to God’s faithfulness. What seems like callousness may in fact be evidence of God’s commitment to us and to our spiritual well-being. God doesn’t promise to make our lives free from pain and struggle. He promises to make our lives spiritually fruitful if we remain faithful to Him.

I heard a story about some fish suppliers who were having problems shipping cod from the East Coast. By the time it reached the West, it was spoiled. They froze it, but by the time it arrived, it was mushy. So, they decided to send it alive, but it arrived dead. They tried sending it alive again, but with one difference: They included a catfish in each tank. You see, catfish are the natural enemies of cod. By the time the cod arrived, they were alive and well because they had spent their trip fleeing the catfish.

Maybe God has put a catfish in your tank to keep you alive and well spiritually. He’s faithful that way. Maybe there’s a person at work who always has eight hard questions for you every morning regarding spiritual things. Maybe it’s that neighbor who is giving you a hard time for your faith in Jesus. Maybe it’s a spouse or a family member who doesn’t believe. You are wondering why this is happening. It’s like that catfish. That person is keeping you alert.

Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples, “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15:19 NLT).

God will allow persecution in the life of a believer. If you’re experiencing persecution, here are two things to remember: First, persecution confirms that you are a child of God. Second, persecution causes you to cling more tightly to Jesus. That’s God’s faithfulness at work. Embrace it. Give thanks for it.

And when you’re suffering persecution for your faith, remember, this world isn’t your real home anyway. If you persevere with a steady, peaceful spirit, trusting in Jesus to help you, your welcome into Heaven will be more glorious than you can imagine. You can depend on it because God is faithful.

Reflection question: When have you experienced God’s faithfulness in your life?

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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“Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9 NLT)

God is always present, everywhere, all the time. David celebrated—and explored the implications of—God’s constant presence in Psalm 139:7–12: “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (NLT).

He personalized God’s presence just as the prophet Amos did. “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” (Amos 3:3 NLT). God said to Amos’ fellow prophet Zephaniah, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs” (Zephaniah 3:17 NLT).

The point is that God is present with His people, and He wants His people to be present with Him. He wants us to keep appointments with Him, to meet with Him on a regular basis. He wants us to prioritize our relationship with Him. He wants us to make the necessary sacrifices to keep that relationship active and growing.

I wonder how many times each day God wants to speak to us but can’t get a word in edgewise. I wonder if He might say, “I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time, but you’re too busy. This morning I wanted to talk to you, but you didn’t have any time for Me. Instead, you read the newspaper, watched TV, and talked on the phone. You never opened My Word. You never prayed. At lunch I tried to say something, but your prayer was too fast. You have an appointment with Me. Why don’t you keep it?”

The book of Genesis tells us that Adam had an appointment with God every day in the Garden of Eden. Adam would hear the voice of the Lord in the Garden in the cool of the evening. One day Adam missed that appointment because of sin. Genesis 3:9 says, “Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (NLT).

I wonder if the Lord would say that to some of us each day: “Where are you? I’ve been looking for you. I want to speak to you. I want you to walk with Me, and I want to walk with you.”

Just imagine, the Creator of the universe wants to spend time with you! Is there any appointment that’s worth keeping more than this one?

Reflection question: How do you experience God’s presence in your life?

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.