The lead scripture for our meditation yesterday was Romans 8:28. There we learned that God has all it takes to work out all things to the advantage of those who love Him. Paul did not write that as mere rhetorics; he believed it, judging from the experiences of his life. One such experience was the letter he wrote to the Philippians. He wrote it from prison. Generally, jail of any type and of whatever nation is no luxury; but something makes the Roman jail system more deplorable. In his introductory note to the book of Ephesians, Eugene Peterson says anyone in Roman custody is on his own. Feeding and keeping warm in cold weather, writing paper, ink and pen that a prisoner might need has to be at his personal expense. Largely then, a prisoner would depend on the goodwill of friends and relatives. This we can verify from this epistle as Paul later acknowledged what the Philippians sent to him, which inspired that apostolic blessing of Philippians 4:19.

Firstly, thanking God is not what we do only in our pleasant state; it is meant for all times. We ought to move from thanking God for things and situations to thanking Him in-spite of them.

This brings us to our text. Paul mentioned his devotion to giving thanks on behalf of the Philippians even in his incarceration. Two things come to mind from this. Firstly, thanking God is not what we do only in our pleasant state; it is meant for all times. We ought to move from thanking God for things and situations to thanking Him in-spite of them. When we can look beyond our unpleasant circumstances and still bless God we touch a chord in the heart of the Father; and it indicates that we are maturing in the way of the Spirit. Secondly, our inspiration to thank God for all things must be knowledge-based, knowing that God has all things under control and He is working them out for good.