Sermon snippet – No Sermon November – Part IV – Thanks in Thankless Places
INTRODUCTION – This week I looked at every verse in the bible that uses some form of “thank,” including “thanks,” “thanksgiving,” and “thank offering.” Two things struck me. (I have a hard head; you have to hit me twice to get my attention.). First, there are not as many references as you might think. Second, some of the thanks was given in thankless places. Let us consider three quick examples.
- DANIEL
In Daniel 6:10, we find the prophet Daniel giving thanks as he prayed. What is surprising is the back story: any person offering prayer to anyone other than the king would be put to death in a lions’ den. Daniel’s practice of prayer was unchanged, yet he was miraculously protected in that lair of leonine felines. However, his giving of thanks occurred before his deliverance. Ironically, it was this very prayer of thanks that caused what should have been a death sentence. Daniel’s example is roaringly impressive.
- JONAH
In Jonah 2:7-9, the prophet Jonah prays while he is still in the belly of a huge fish. Like Daniel, he would be preserved and delivered. However, even before any answer, Jonah offered “thanksgiving.” Prayer? Yes. Desperate prayer? Yes! Thanksgiving? I don’t know that I would have thought of that. Jonah’s gutsy example is most impressive.
- PAUL
In Acts 28:15, the Apostle Paul gives thanks. He has survived a shipwreck and a poisonous snakebite. He is now met by fellow Christians. However, he is still a prisoner of the Romans. He was born a free citizen but now is incarcerated. Paul’s example is convictingly impressive.
CONCLUSION – These examples of thanks in thankless places bring us to the kind command of I Thessalonians 5:18: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Yes, it is possible to be thankful if we are “in Christ Jesus” – that is, if we have trusted in Him for salvation and thus delivered from the eternally thankless place called hell. Then, when we are thankful, we find ourselves in a great place to be – in “the will of God.”