KEYS TO SURVIVAL 

I THESSALONIANS 5:14-22 

          After having talked to these Christians about the rapture of the Church and the second coming of Christ Paul comes to the close of this letter by leaving them these 14 commands.  Today I want to focus on only one of the commands.  Verse 18 says “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  I believe that a good understanding of this verse is essential for spiritual and emotional well being.  Understanding this verse can provide the key for surviving the circumstances of life.  So the title of today’s message is “THE KEY TO SURVIVAL.”

I want to begin by pointing out two things about this verse.  First of all, the verses did not say “for all things give thanks.”  It said “In all things give thanks.”   The command is focused on our attitudes as we go through various circumstances in life.  It is saying that while we are in the midst of whatever is occurring in our lives, we as Christians are to continue to give thanks to God.  It does not say that we are to be thankful for the event or the circumstances but we are to continue to have a heart of thankfulness even as we endure the circumstances.  The second point is related to “for this is the will of God.”  What does the “this” reply to?  There are many who might say that whatever the circumstance you are enduring is the will of God for you and thus they point the “this” to the circumstances we endure in life.    I believe that the “this” refers to giving thanks.  Giving thanks in the midst of any circumstance that we are encountering is God’s will for us.  Why do I believe that giving thanks in the midst of trial is God’s will for use?  Because giving thanks forces us to redirect our attention away from the circumstance and back to God.  When we are focused on God we can find peace because Isaiah 26:3 says “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.” However, giving thanks while going through is not always easy, especially if the circumstances linger for a while.  We may start out giving thanks and praising God, but as time rolls on and we see little change we sometimes become disheartened and giving thanks and praise becomes harder and harder.  You see as the circumstances linger on and on our hope of seeing a speedy end to the trial dwindles.  I have come to understand that the greatest threat to surviving the circumstances of life is hopelessness.  And believe it or not the scriptures also support this understanding.

PROVERBS 13:12

          When we really hope for something and it is taking a long time it really tears at our hearts.  You see as Christians we recognize that God can give us the desire of our heart, but we also know that He is not choosing to for whatever reason.  This hurts and can be heart breaking and can sap ever bit of emotional energy from us if we allow it.

PSALMS 77:7-9

          When hopelessness begins to set in we start to ask questions like those posed here by the psalmist.  Lord, have you for gotten me?  Will you ever answer my prayer?  Have you decided not to be bothered with me any more?  Are you angry with me for something?  We start to look for reasons why God has not granted our desire, delivered us from our circumstance or come to our rescue.  With each question and each day dealing with and focusing on the circumstances we drift more and more towards a feeling of hopelessness. 

PROVERBS 18:14

          When our hearts are broken we can hardly bear it.  Sometimes it is not the circumstance that is causing us to be heart broken but rather it is the response of God or the lack thereof that is causing us pain.  We want Him to move on our behalf and we do not understand what appears to be His lack of action.  We are broken, our spirits are wounded and we feel that we will not survive.

          When we have these extended waits and it seems that God is not hearing us, we tend to get ourselves in trouble.

JEREMIAH 18:12

          Feeling that there was no hope for them after having turned from God, God’s people here say that they will they will walk in there own way and do what they want to do.  When we wait for a long time and still don’t get the response from God that we desire we like Israel sometimes decide to handle things for ourselves; to find a way to meet our own needs.  We look for relief from pressures, other ways of gaining finances, unequal and unholy companionship, artificial deliverance, etc.  We decide to handle it for ourselves, generally make a mess and get ourselves in deeper trouble.  There is a danger in becoming hopeless.  Hopelessness unchecked will lead to sin.

          But how do we check hopelessness?  How do we put a stop to the depression that tries to sink its claws into our lives?  We will always have undesirable circumstances to face and sometimes these circumstances can be long lasting and life changing.  What can we do?  How can we survive?  This brings us back to our starting point.

I THESSALONIANS 5:18

In every thing give thanks.  We can survive even the toughest of circumstances and the longest trials by

1.     Obeying the command to give God thanks.  Instead of looking at our circumstances we should look for reasons to give God thanks.  Thank Him that things are not worse because they could be.  Thank Him for being God in your life.  Thank Him for salvation.  Just thank Him. (Hebrews 13:15)

2.     Think back on what God has done in the past – PSALMS 77:10-12 – In his time of weakness the psalmist said “I will remember thy times of blessing.  I will remember how you have worked on my behalf in times past.  I will think of your works and speak of the things you have done.  In other words he changed his focus and his speech.  He stopped worrying about his circumstances and rather than mumbling, grumbling and complaining he let his talking be about the wonderful works of God.

3.     A third thing that will help us survive through hard times is found in 2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10.  – Choose to endure recognizing that we grow strong in God as we grow weaker in self.  See hard times not as obstacles but rather as opportunities.  This answer that God gave Paul gave him a new understanding about suffering.    With this new understanding he says I take pleasure in distress, persecutions, infirmities and sufferings.  Why?  Because enduring these God says makes me strong.  Choose to endure and see your strength in God grow. (Romans 5:3-5)

4.     PSALMS 42:5 – What is the Psalmist doing here?  He is encouraging himself.  He asked himself, “Why are you depressed and why are you anxious and worried?  Have you forgotten in whom you trust?”  He is talking to himself.  He says, “In spite of my circumstance I will yet praise Him.”  Speak words of encouragement to yourself. (Psalms 38:15      For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God

5.     Remind yourself of

a.      Who God is – JEREMIAH 32:27 – This is God’s declaration of his sovereignty.

b.     God’s love for you – JOHN 3:16, JOHN 15:13

c.     God’s way is perfect – PSALMS 18:30-32. 

Surviving through long and difficult circumstances is tough but not impossible.  Chose to submit to the will of God and give Him thanks, thus changing you focus.  Remembering God’s past works in you life choose to endure hard trial recognizing that through them we grow in strength.  Encourage yourself to continue holding on recognizing that nothing is too hard for our God who loves us and who does not make mistakes.  Submit to the will of God, Give Him thanks in all things and see yourself become the victor over your circumstances.