Giving Thanks Always by Jimmy Simmons

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:18-19; Emp.JS)
      There is much that could be discussed from the text above, such as the sinfulness of drinking alcoholic beverages, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, singing without the mechanical instrument, and unity among the brethren. However, the subject that encompasses the entirety of the text is thanksgiving. For we cannot keep ourselves from worldly desires in allowing the word of God dwell in our hearts and give praise to the Lord in song (Colossians 3:16) while dwelling together in unity without being thankful to God. We could not do anything that the Lord commands us to do without giving thanks to God (Colossians 3:17). “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thessalonians 5:18). We will now notice three things for which we should be giving thanks always to God.  
 Giving Thanks Always For What God Has Done For Us
We should give thanks always to God for giving us life (Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:29; Hebrews 12:9), and for giving us the things that sustain our lives (Matthew 5:45; 6:25-26; Acts 17:25-26). Most of all we should give thanks always to God for giving us what we must have to have the hope of eternal life (John 3:16;Titus 3:7; 2 Peter 1:3). “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15) 

Giving Thanks Always For What God Is Doing For Us
      We should give thanks always to God for His plan of Salvation and His providential care for us. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Acts 8:28). “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (I Peter 3:12).
We should give thanks always to God for His promises. We should be thankful to God for His being longsuffering toward us (2 Peter 3:9). We should be thankful to God for allowing us to enjoy our fellowship with Him and for all spiritual blessings He gives us in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-7). We should be thankful to God for never forsaking us (Hebrews 13:5-6). We should be thankful to God for allowing us to enjoy our fellowship with Him and for all spiritual blessings He gives us in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-7). We should be thankful to God for never forsaking us (Hebrews 13:5-6). We should be thankful to God for the blessed assurance we have of His Promise of eternal life. “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2).
 
Giving Thanks Always For What God Will Do For Us
We should give thanks always to God for allowing us to live one day in heaven for eternity. What a joyous day that will be for us when we will be able to show forth our gratitude to God forever when we heart: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21, 23). Let us be giving thanks always.