Thankful?

It’s always easier to be thankful when things are going our way; it’s harder when they are not. Nevertheless, to the Christian believer God’s word declares:

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)

How is this possible? How can a person be full of joy and thankful in every situation and season of their life? At a time when panic, pandemic and pandemonium wreak havoc on our lives, families and nation. At a time when freedoms are endangered and our very way of life is imperiled by leaders using panic, pandemic and pandemonium as an excuse to strip it all away. Add to our collective grief the countless and varied personal struggles that each of us have encountered as we have traversed the year that will go down in infamy and the question echoes louder still – how can a person be both full of joy and gratitude in times like these?

The problem lies in the fact that for many people, thankfulness is strongly conditioned on whether or not they get their way; this is a pagan attitude – not a Christian one. Be that as it may, Christians are also susceptible to being ungrateful when they let sight rather than faith control them and when they make themselves rather than God the priority in their lives.  Paul identified the fact in (2 Timothy 3:1–5):

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

The Christian today who in light of his or her circumstances can not find anything for which to be thankful for needs a reset; they need to, as it were, “turn their eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face.” As believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not supposed to be anxious or worried about ANYTHING!!! We ARE supposed to call to mind His promises, His gift to us, His love toward us, His presence with us no matter what we go through, His faithfulness, His grace, His mercy and His many kindnesses toward us. We are to consider the fact that “this is the day that the Lord has made” and that because He has given us a place in it, to “rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118: 24) There is joy in calling to mind such things which can eclipse the circumstances one may find themselves in – joy that both produces and is produced by our thankfulness to God. Then we will pray, not just when things fail to go our way but ceaselessly as we walk with Him. That verse in Philippians (4:6) that instructs us not to be anxious also instructs us to be thankful when we approach God in prayer for this very reason – that whether God answers as we hope or not, through Christ He has granted us the privilege of a relationship with Him which allows us to boldly come before Him (Hebrews 4:16), a relationship in which He calls us His children (John 1:12) – even His friend (John 15:14-15). And if God never answered another prayer as we hope He has already granted us more than we deserve or could ever hope for through His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

A true attitude of gratitude begins with a new life and a new focus.

Today, you may be driven by circumstances to be either thankful or unthankful but I invite the one who has never turned, never trusted, never BELIEVED in Jesus Christ to abandon their fear for a future that only faith in Him makes possible. It begins with understanding that your sins have separated you from God; and before you say, “what sins;” consider the word of the Lord which declared that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). The Bible also declares that eternal separation from God is the compensation you can expect for sin (Romans 6:23) but that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” God has made new life possible through His Son and by faith you may have it. My hope is that, as He draws you to Himself you will not resist but come and take hold of eternal life.

There is no greater cause for thanksgiving in the heart of a man or a woman than that God has saved your soul!

Happy Thanksgiving!