All of us who serve in the church, whether it's in a professional or lay capacity, suffer from burnout occasionally. No one is exempt - not pastors nor counselors nor deaconesses nor volunteers. We may love what we do. We may be caring and committed servants. However, there comes a day when we think that we just cannot bear to hear one more story about someone's suffering, watch one more person's health fade as they age, or make one more phone call to line up greeters for church the next Sunday. There comes a time when we find it almost impossible to "give thanks in all circumstances." Is this really "the will of God in Christ Jesus for us"? 

I do not think that God intends for us to be thankful for pain and suffering, for sin and evil, or for our inhumanity to each other. But I do believe that this passage is the blueprint for an attitude. Note the emphasis on constancy - "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. We can nurture the attitude of thanksgiving precisely because "it is the will of God in Christ Jesus." Jesus' suffering and death have brought us back into a right relationship with God, and it is in and for that relationship that we are able to foster thankfulness as an attitude, a way of being, a part of who we are. He came to bring life in abundance-rich in purpose and meaning, rich in love and relationships, rich in all that matters in this world and the next. He did not come to guarantee us material wealth, fame, prestige, or even health. 

And when He left this world Jesus did not leave us alone. He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Note verse 19: "Do not quench the Spirit." The Spirit within us helps us to maintain an attitude of thanksgiving no matter what comes, and that attitude of thanksgiving opens our hearts to the Holy Spirit and abundant lives as children of God. Make full use of the God-given means to be thankful-worship and servanthood. How fitting that we end our worship service with the mighty shout, "Thanks be to God!" 

About the Author: Deaconess Gail Musolf is the parish worker at St. Mary's Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She is director of the Friendly Center, a senior citizens' group, and coordinates volunteers.