"there has only ever been one perfect man, the Lord Jesus, and we killed him. I only missed a putt."
Joyful thanks
Giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1: 12-14The final point that Paul makes about how we should pray is thankfully. But that is not enough for Paul. We have all said “thanks” without meaning it. Paul requires us to pray with joyful thanks.
You are having a bad day – a bad month – so that last thing you need is Paul telling you that you should be joyfully thankful. You are injured, your form has deserted you, your coach is being unreasonable, the federation is making demands on you, your sponsor has not renewed the contract, a family member is ill – and Paul wants you to be joyful and thankful? What on earth have I got to be thankful about?
Well, says Paul, how about that fact that God has forgiven your sins? Then there is the point about God having brought you into his kingdom for ever. And if that is not enough, God has invited you to share in an eternal inheritance.
Of course injury, form, illness, external pressures are hard and real. But if we train ourselves to look for things to be thankful for, it will help us get our problems in perspective.