It is the will of God that the believer
be able to give thanks inALLthings(I Thessalonians 5:18)
The English words "thanks" and "grace"
are cognate words in the Greek:
Thanks - Greek (eucharisteo)
Grace - Greek (charis)
Therefore, thanks-giving is quite literally grace-receiving
God Who sparedNOTHis own Son the cross will also freely (without cause) give usALLthingsthrough His Son via His cross
(Romans 8:32)
Just as the power of His resurrection could not be manifested
without the weakness of His cross (II Corinthians 13:4), so also is His prayer to the Father for us that we too "would
be more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:34-37)
As the believer becomes "filled with the Spirit"
by " the Word of (the)
Christ" dwelling (becoming at home) in the
believer's spirit, it results in the heart singing (grace-receiving) which
is expressed through thanks-giving in ALL things (Ephesians 5:18-20 cf. Colossians 3:16-17)
Paul was willing to suffer ALL things for the sake of
the saints, so that they would experience His abounding grace and that consequently their thanks-giving would reflect
the glory of the Giver (II Corinthians 4:15 cf. II Timothy 2:10)
ALL believers will "live with Him" (II Timothy 2:11,13),
but NOT ALL believers will "reign with Him" - that is reserved for those believers who "suffer with
Him" (II Timothy 2:12)
Our "light affliction" yields an "exceeding
glory" ONLY if we are looking NOT at the earthly seen things, BUT at the heavenly unseen things (II Corinthians 4:17-18
cf. Colossians 3:1-2)