www.thegospelcoalition.org
The Divine Attribute That Can Transform Your Thanksgiving
“I know God works all things for good, but what possible good could come from this?”
Has there ever been a Christian who hasn’t asked this question? While Scripture assures us that God works all things for good (Rom. 8:28), when suffering arrives we struggle to identify the single divine purpose substantial enough to justify our pain. Because we have a limited perspective, we tend to look for single-cause explanations. We want to attribute what happened to a single, preferably identifiable, reason. But what if this approach fundamentally misunderstands how God operates in our lives? What if God doesn’t merely have one purpose but countless good reasons for everything he ordains?
This is where the concept of divine omnirationality offers a profound perspective. While less familiar than other “omni” attributes, like omnipotence or omniscience, omnirationality may be equally transformative for our spiritual lives.
What Is Omnirationality?
Omnirationality means that whenever God acts, he acts for all the good reasons there are for doing what he does. Unlike humans, who often act on some reasons while ignoring others due to ignorance or preference, God—being perfectly wise, perfectly good, and perfectly knowledgeable—acts on the full range of good reasons for his actions.
Think about how you make decisions. Did you pick tonight’s dinner because it’s healthy? Because it’s convenient? Because it’s affordable? Or because it’s what your kids will eat without complaint? When you planned the dinner menu, you probably prioritized some factors over others. God isn’t like this. When God creates or ordains something, he does so for every good reason there is or could possibly be.
What if God doesn’t merely have one purpose but countless good reasons for everything he ordains?
He acts because of how it’ll draw you closer to him, and how it’ll help you love others better, and how it’ll strengthen your faith, and how it’ll bless your family, and how it’ll display his glory, and countless other goods we might never comprehend. “And, and, and . . .” says Daniel M. Johnson, “Any good reason we can identify for God to bring it about is why God brought it about” (emphasis original).
Baylor University philosopher Alexander Pruss calls omnirationality “an underexplored divine attribute.” It might also be one of the most important concepts for developing Christian gratitude.
How Omnirationality Transforms Thanksgiving
When it comes to difficult situations, we tend to look for ways to be grateful to God by identifying possible good outcomes. For instance, we might say, “God allowed this trial because it taught me patience.” This approach isn’t necessarily wrong, of course, but it’s certainly incomplete. It suggests God has only one primary reason for what he’s doing (e.g., to teach patience) when Scripture reveals a God of inexhaustible wisdom and purpose.
Seeing our circumstances through the lens of omnirationality can transform our gratitude in three profound ways.
First, it eliminates the need to find the “main reason.” When facing trials, we often get frustrated if we aren’t able to identify God’s singular purpose for why he allowed a relationship to end or a long-held dream to slip away. Omnirationality liberates us from this burden. If something good results from your circumstances—any good at all—you can be absolutely certain that reason was among God’s reasons for ordaining it.
Take something as simple as seeing a baby smile when you’ve had a difficult day. You might wonder, Is this small joy really significant enough to be part of God’s purpose in my struggles? It is. And this is one of the most remarkable implications of omnirationality. That moment of delight when a baby’s smile made you feel lighter wasn’t accidental or merely incidental; it was among God’s chosen reasons for ordaining your circumstances. The beauty, connection, and momentary joy of that smile were genuinely part of his divine intent. God doesn’t see them as a pleasant but ultimately meaningless side effect.
Second, it multiplies our occasions for thanksgiving. Instead of looking for the singular silver lining, omnirationality invites us to seek out every good consequence, no matter how trivial it may seem. It might appear insignificant to us, but it’s not to God. Each discovered good becomes another reason to thank God.
Third, it balances certainty with humility. Omnirationality gives us the confidence to identify some of God’s purposes while reminding us that his reasons far exceed our understanding. We can be certain about the goods he’s clearly shown us while remaining humble about the countless reasons we don’t yet perceive. After all, he’s only ever giving us but a glimpse at all he’s doing for us.
All-the-Reasons Practice
How might we apply this practically? In an attempt to develop a deeper gratitude for what God had done (and is doing) in my life, I created this simple exercise called the All-the-Reasons practice.
Step 1: Identify the circumstance.
Select a significant circumstance in your life—perhaps a job loss, a health crisis, a relocation, or even a blessing you’ve received. Write it at the top of a page. (For the first few times you practice this exercise, I recommend selecting an event from the not-so-recent past.)
Step 2: List all the good outcomes you can think of.
List every good thing, small or large, that has resulted from this circumstance. Don’t evaluate whether these goods were “worth it” or try to determine which was God’s “main purpose.” Simply write down as many as you can think of.
For instance, in reflecting on getting laid off from a job in 2012, my list included these:
Led me to take several new jobs (including my role at TGC!)
Set me on a path toward pastoral ministry
Gave me more time to be with my wife after her back injury
Helped me develop a deeper empathy for others experiencing unemployment and job insecurity
Step 3: Recognize God’s intentions.
For each item on your list, write or say this statement: “God ordained [my circumstance] in part because he intended [this good outcome].”
This simple reframing can profoundly shift our understanding. Instead of saying, “God brought good despite my job loss,” I was able to say, “God ordained my job loss in part because he intended to give me precious time with my wife during her recovery.” Both statements affirm God’s goodness, of course, but the second more accurately acknowledges his intentionality.
We should also recognize that everything God does, he does for his glory. We can often be so self-focused that we fail to acknowledge that if God is glorified in a thing, it is for my good.
Step 4: Acknowledge the ‘And, and, and . . .’
At the bottom of your page, write and reflect on this statement: “And God had countless other good reasons I haven’t yet discovered.” This acknowledges both what has been revealed and what remains mysterious.
Step 5: Expand your circle.
Make this a regular practice, such as once a week or once a month. Look over your list and see if you can’t add newly discovered goods, such as recent changes in your life that couldn’t have happened without that incident. Ask family and friends what good they’ve observed coming from your circumstance that you might have missed. Their perspective often reveals divine purposes you never noticed.
From Sporadic Thanksgiving to Constant Wonder
When we embrace God’s omnirationality, gratitude becomes less about occasional thanksgiving for obvious blessings and more about constant wonder at God’s intricate involvement in our lives. We move from asking “Why would God allow this?” to “How many of his infinite good purposes might I discover today?”
We can be certain about the goods he’s clearly shown us while remaining humble about the countless reasons we don’t yet perceive.
Perhaps most importantly, omnirationality helps us trust God more deeply in our present trials. When facing difficult circumstances, you can be certain that God has not just one but countless good reasons for this season of your life, many of which may remain hidden for now but will gradually be revealed in his perfect timing. As John Piper famously says, “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”
Similarly, the apostle Paul exclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33). Omnirationality doesn’t diminish this mystery. Instead, it can help us embrace it with confidence, knowing that behind every divine action lies not just a good reason but a nearly uncountable number of good reasons waiting to be discovered by grateful hearts.
New Posts (Home)
ChatBox
Popular Posts 
Game Zone
Top PodCasts
