In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

(1Th 5:18)  Years ago I remember sitting in a worship service at our church listening to our pastor preach on this verse.  That day he challenged us to sincerely give thanks for all things, not just the good but “in everything”.  I took the challenge to heart; after all, it wasn’t as though it was just his opinion.  It is God’s will for us to give thanks in everything.  But, with the national average of gasoline at $4.00 per gallon one would wonder what in the world would we have to be thankful about.  Since thankfulness is an attitude of the heart if we earnestly look we can find the silver lining in every cloud.  Consequently, I have come up with three good reasons in which we can be thankful for high gas prices. 

First, and the most obvious, is that being thankful for high gas prices helps to maintain the biblical mandate found here in I Thessalonians 5:18.  By reading the scriptures it’s easy to conclude that God desires for His children to be thankful.  “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. “ (Col 3:17)

Secondly, high gas prices teach us to be dependent upon our Father in Heaven.   We all know what a strain these prices have put on our families budgets.  This can be especially true for the elderly living on a limited income, single mothers, and those families whose husbands are the sole providers and have chosen to live on one income.   Do you have no one to turn to except the Lord?  Are you relying upon Him daily?  Do you trust in Him to provide all your needs?  We can be thankful for these things because “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

The third reason we can be thankful for high gas prices is that it gives us a good reason to stay home.  We are living in a time and age where the acronym B.U.S.Y. (Bound Under Satan’s Yoke) rings loudly.  We go nonstop from one activity to another.  We eat on the run rarely taking time for family dinners.  From here to there and back again, our families are constantly exhausted and over extended.  We’re too busy to talk.  We’re too busy to spend time together.  We’re too busy to pray with our children.  Fathers are too busy to lead in family worship.  Mothers are too busy to teach their daughters how to cook, garden, and sew.  Husbands and wives are too busy to spend time together as a couple.   If high gas prices does anything to our economy let it be that it helps Christian families prioritize.

So ladies, if you find yourself sitting at home a lot this summer you can be thankful.  It’s a great time to be creative.  Have a family campout in the back yard.  Spend a Saturday taking a walk and getting to know your neighbors.  You could start a phone ministry to the lonely or a card ministry to the sick right from your home.  Turn off the TV and read classic literature to your children.  Slow down, look up, and let the Lord use you right where you are at. After all, even spending time with three children playing a game of Monopoly can make a perpetual difference in their precious lives.