by William Gaultiere, Ph.D., ChristianSoulCare.com

You can be someone who gives thanks in all circumstances! Do believe this? Probably your answer is yes because the Bible says, “Give thanks in all circumstances” in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. But do you really believe this? Are you thankful in the midst of your problems and disappointments? Are you likely to smile when circumstances aren’t going well for you and no one is looking at you?

Some years ago, prompted by the Holy Spirit, I had to admit that my attitude in difficulty was more likely to reflect worry, complaining, or jealousy than gratitude. I knew better and kept trying, but the anxieties within me kept rising up and getting the best of me.

God drew me to the book of Philippians. Twenty times in his short letter, Paul’s exuberance bursts forth and he speaks of being joyful. And along with all of his rejoicing are many expressions of thankfulness, encouragement, affirmation, hope, and contentment. Where does all of Paul’s positivity come from?

Prison. Yes, prison! When Paul wrote his letter to the disciples of Jesus in Philippi he was serving a sentence as a criminal though he’d done nothing wrong. He simply had told too many people about Jesus and so they beat him almost to death and locked him up—for seven years until he was executed. In those days, that meant that for twenty-four hours a day Paul was chained to a prison guard, probably a gorilla-like thug who was loud, vulgar, smelly, snoring at night, and, in his best moments, plain boring!

It was in this deplorable, unjust condition that Paul wrote to the Philippians:

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy…

I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance… I will continue with you for your progress and joy in the faith…

Be glad and rejoice with me… (Philippians 1:3-4, 18-19, 25; 2:18).

What a wonderfully positive attitude and spirit of generosity Paul demonstrated when he was suffering! And, though Paul’s example is not common, he is not an isolated case. The Bible and church history are full of similar models of gratefulness in the midst of distress, as is our contemporary world. I have heard people give thanks to God after their house burned down or after they lost their job. I have talked with people who are sincerely grateful to God while sick in a hospital bed or when grieving the loss of a loved one or despite suffering from the painful effects of incest.

I myself, in recent years, have in a number of instances been able genuinely and spontaneously to be grateful in difficulties, to bless someone who has criticized me, or to express joy despite being disappointed by circumstances.

When most people would bemoan or bicker how is it that some people beam and bless? Paul explains how…

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again! Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition present your requests to God and the peace of God… will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus…

Whatever is true… lovely… or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you…

I have learned to be content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through [Christ] who gives me strength (Philippians 4:4-9, 12-13).

Like me and you and anyone else, Paul had to learn how to be a grateful, joyful person. He wasn’t born with it. It didn’t come by trying hard, by gritting his teeth and grinding it out! Nor was it zapped into him by the Holy Spirit at his glorious Damascus Road conversion experience. Paul’s positivity was developed as a result of the training that he did with Jesus.

Paul had been an angry, ambitious, and negative man. But, as we see in the book of Philippians, Paul was transformed through his relationship with Christ to become a peaceful, gracious, and grateful man. His spiritual formation progressed as he humbled himself to be ministered to by Ananias, Peter, and other disciples of the Lord (Acts 9:1-19). Most significantly, he grew tremendously during three years of meeting with the risen Christ in solitude, prayer, and meditation in the Arabian Desert (Galatians 1:11-24). And as part of his discipleship to Jesus he practiced a variety of other spiritual disciplines that formed him in the image of Christ.

Paul learned to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), to “pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:18). He learned to live “by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), to live his whole life in the context of and from the resources of the kingdom of the heavens in his midst. In all that Paul did he took a hold of God’s merciful hand reaching down to him from the heavens and this is why his soul smiled and he had boundless enthusiasm to minister Christ’s gospel to others. He was in the flow of God’s blessings before pains and problems came his way and so he just stayed with the stream of grace and let it overflow from himself to others!

The hand of heaven is reaching down to you and I even now! If we take a hold then we will be thankful in all circumstances. This is the life-transforming message of Philippians.