When Jesus gathered His disciples for the Passover meal on the night before His death, “He took the cup, and gave thanks” (Matthew 26:27). While giving thanks was normal, what the cup represented was not normal: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (verse 28). Jesus was giving thanks for what was about to happen—the shedding of His blood.

This illustrates what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Giving thanks for the impending experience of one’s own death is certainly an example of giving thanks in everything. Both Jesus and Paul used the same Greek word for giving thanks: eucharisteo. But Paul used the imperative form of the word, making it a command. It is God’s will for us to give thanks in everything; not to be thankful is to be disobedient to His will. 

Begin the practice of giving thanks in those circumstances where you might not be inclined to do so—remembering that it is God’s will. 

The measure of our spirituality is the amount of praise and thanksgiving in our prayer.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones