Ephesians 5:20
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Back in the days when the Bible was written, Paul wrote a letter to Ephesus and in that letter he wrote a lot about what it means to be a child of God. If you are a believer, and have put your faith in Jesus Christ as the sole forgiver of your sins, then you are a child of God (Romans 10:13). Paul writes in his letter to Ephesus that children of God are blessed, chosen and made blameless in God's sight (Ephesians 1:4). Later on in his letter Paul writes about what seperates a child of God filled with the Holy Spirit from the rest of the world that is filled with darkness; what are the attributes a child of God should display that those of the world cannot. Here is what Paul writes of children of God in Ephesians chapter 5 from verses 15 to 20:
Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a lot of importance and truth here that Paul has written inspired by the Spirit of Truth (2 Timothy 3:16), however I would like to bring your attention to the last sentence of this paragraph: "Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:19-20). From this sentence it is clear that if you are a child of God, then you should sing to the Lord and always give thanks to God for everything.
So, what does that look like? Let's look at the two halves of this sentence in reverse order.
Ephesisans chapter 5 verse 20 says we should give thanks to God for everything. Most believers have heard before that they should "give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever" (Psalm 107:1), but what Paul writes goes a step further than this. He writes that children of God should give thanks to God not just because He is good, but that they should give thanks to Him for everything. When you think about it, God is in control of everything that happens on earth, (Proverbs 19:21) and so He is the provider of everything that comes your way and mine.
Everything that comes our way comes by the sovereignty of God, and so we should always thank Him for everything. This is why children who grow up in Christian households learn at a young age to pray for their food, because they are thanking God for the meal He has given them. Beyond our meals, we should thank God for all of our friends and our family. We should thank God for every single day that He has made (Psalm 118:24). We should thank God for all the TV shows and movies He has allowed us to watch and by which we are entertained. We should thank God for every sunset He makes. We should thank God for every painting that He has allowed to hang in a gallery of public or private nature. We should thank God for the churches that He has brought up from the ground, so that believers may gather in them. We should thank God for everything in this world that we like.
Let's not stop there, though, as we should thank God for the things in this world we don't like. We should thank God for every opportunity He has taken away from us (Job 1:21). We should thank God for every storm and hurricane He has sent our way (Job 37:11-13). We should thank God for every friend and family member that He has led away from us. We should thank God for every sickness and weakness He gives us (John 9:1-3). We should thank God for every time someone else has been admired or received favor, when we thought we should have gotten it. We should thank God for every time we have not been glorified. We should do this, because God has revealed to us that "all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" (Romans 3:28).
Remember God deserves thanks for all things. He will be glorified above all things, because of how He has orchestrated all things. He uses everything in life that we perceive as good and everything we perceive as bad to happen all for His glory. For it is written in the Scriptures that one day God's host shall sing of Him, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being,” (Revelation 4:11).
When we understand that we are to thank God for everything in our lives (the good and the bad/the liked and the disliked), our hearts will be filled with joy for His namesake. With this joy that comes from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) we will be able to "sing and make music from [our] heart to the Lord," (Ephesians 5:19). When we are always thankful for everything God gives us, we will always have a joy in our hearts to sing to Him. "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song" (Psalm 95:1-2). With thanksgiving for God and all He has done, let us sing to Him!
Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Forever, God is faithful
Forever, God is strong
Forever, God is with us
Forever
- Chris Tomlin
Sources
- The Bible (New International Version)
- Open Bible Info: Giving Thanks
- Open Bible Info: Singing
- Chris Tomlin: Forever
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