It’s a matter of fact that one normally offers thanks only after they’ve received something good.
We give thanks after someone opens the door for us, gives us the coffee we just ordered, or finishes a favor. We’re grateful when our spouse cooks a meal, takes the dog out, or calls the plumber. Appreciation is almost universally a reaction to a good which is done to us.
And this same logic flows into our spiritual lives.
It’s typical to offer thanks to God after He does something.
After that prayer is finally answered, the breakthrough comes, and the miracle happens. Once God has accomplished the good we desire, we offer thanks then move on with our lives.
In our lives this is the normally course of things but if we look closely at the pattern of Jesus, this is actually backwards.
Thanks First
Remember the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand?
Hearing rumors and stories of Jesus’ teachings and miracles, a massive crowd comes to see this supposed messiah in person. They want to see a miracle take place, they want to see if this really is Israel’s long-awaited savior.
But there’s a problem with having thousands of travelers in one place….who’s going to feed them?
The response to this dilemma has been told for centuries, passed on in Scripture, family bedtimes, and Sunday schools for millennia. A boy brings his share of five loaves of bread and two fish, enough food for only a few people.
What seems to be lacking from a human perspective is more than enough in God’s economy.
Suddenly this meager food supply is transformed into enough food for the thousands gathered. Jesus miraculously multiplies the food and satisfies the hungry souls who have gathered to witness their savior.
Timing is everything
Since working this miracle, we’ve come to know it as “the feeding of five thousand” or “feeding the multitude.”
But how did those in Israel come to know of this miracle? How was it referenced when news of what Jesus did spread through the Galilean countryside?
Fortunately, John tells us.
The day following this miracle, he writes of a crowd who “came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks” (John 6:23).
As news of this miracle passed through the Galilean grapevine, it was notable not only for the amazing multiplication of food but for the timing of the thanks given to God.
Jesus offered thanks—showed his gratefulness—before the miracle happened.
Gratitude in the life of Jesus is proactive, not reactive. He doesn’t wait for the Father to act, he expects it, and shows gratitude in advance. And this advanced praise is a highlight of Jesus’ miracle.
When we withhold thanksgiving, we’re out of step with the pattern of Jesus. Instead of embracing the reality that our lives are hemmed in by the radical goodness of God, we reinforce the faulty notion that God must somehow earn our gratitude.
As those who are disciples of Jesus, we would do well to follow His pattern.