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"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

"In all circumstances"? Really? What if I have incurable cancer or some other dread disease? Should I be thankful for that? What if I suffer the sudden, unexpected loss of one who is near and dear to me? Should I give thanks? What if war comes to our homeland? What if violence floods my community? What if a tornado or hurricane or wildfire destroys my house? What if the stock market crashes and I lose all my investments? "In all circumstances"? Really?

Yes, really. We Christians need to sit down and quietly meditate. The fall into sin had terrible consequences. It brought death into a living, vibrant world. Death penetrated everything from the largest galaxy to subatomic quarks.

The ultimate result of this death is eternal separation from God. However, before that happens, death manifests itself in all the destructive events on or above earth. This includes the catastrophic events in our own lives. All of these things foretell that ultimate result of sin.

Consider this: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17) By rejecting the Source, mankind rejected the good and perfect gifts. Instead, our ongoing sinfulness has become the source of sad and debilitating plagues, both spiritual and physical. Therefore, as we meditate, we can only come to the conclusion that we are the cause of our deathly life or, as Paul calls it, "this body of death." (Romans 7:24)

This being the case, why are we still receiving good and perfect gifts? It can be summed up in the word grace. Moments after the fall into sin and death, the love of God revealed the reversal of what Satan and man had done. He promised a Savior, who would bring "life and immortality to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:10)

Dear readers, we sinners have received the following promise of the Savior: "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)

From the bondage that oppressed us,

From sin's fetters that possessed us,

From the grief that sore distressed us,

We, the captives, now are free. (TLH 90:6)

Even in the midst of the deep darkness, we can say, "Thanks to God, the sins that make this a body of death have been washed away for all eternity." In the midst of the greatest turmoil, we can say, "Thanks to God all things now work together for my good." When the plagues of this life arise, we can say, "These are not plagues for me, but only reminders, reminders of that from which I have been delivered." When in the valley of the shadow of death, we can say, "I am sure that death will not be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord. For I know that if my earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, I have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

Verily, verily, we can give thanks in all circumstances, because death has been overcome. The body still experiences the consequences of sin; it is still a body of death, but our spirits are filled with the everlasting life of Christ. And, one day our bodies will be transformed into bodies of life, fit for heaven.

See how God, for us providing,

Gave His Son and life abiding;

He our weary steps is guiding

From earth's woe to heavenly joy. (TLH 90:3)

John Pfeiffer is retired from the pastoral and teaching ministry. He is a former president of Immanuel Lutheran College.