In Everything Give Thanks

Amazingly, 2009 is quickly coming to a close. If I'm completely honest, part of me is determined to stay up until 12:01 am on January 1, 2010 to make sure that 2009 actually leaves. Yeah - it's been that kind of year. But in the midst of all of the things that we've lived through that we'd never want to go through again, I felt the Lord today remind me of the words of the Apostle Paul to the church at Thessalonica - ". . .in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV) Now I'm no English scholar (or Greek for that matter) but when Paul wrote "everything" I think he meant "everything". And to me, "everything" is a standard that is really tough to live up to.

I know - all my super-spiritual readers out there - you've lost all respect for me. But if I'm being completely honest, there have been moments over the last year that I have not felt thankful. I have not wanted to be thankful. In point of fact, I think there have been times that I've wondered how a thankful spirit was even possible. And yet - Paul says that in everything, give thanks. As a matter of fact, he says that thanksgiving is the will of God for our lives. So how, in the midst of situations that are painful and hurtful and at times unfair can we still find a way to fulfill the will of God and the command of the Apostle Paul - to be thankful in EVERYTHING? Well - I haven't got this completely licked yet but more and more I'm discovering the joy of living a life of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is not just a period in the month of November - thanksgiving is a lifestyle that we chose to live. And if it is indeed a lifestyle choice then their must be some things I can do to become more grateful, regardless of the circumstances that blow through my life. I want to live a life that fulfills the will of God and therefore I must be thankful in everything - so how do I do it?
I'm confident that there is probably a 5o point sermon out there that someone could recommend but I'm gonna share with you three things that I'm trying to do that is helping me to discover a life of thanks!

1) Trust in the Power of God's Word - Did you know that when the Bible says that ". . . all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. . ." (Romans 8:28 NKJV) it really means it? It doesn't say that everything in my life will be good - it just lets me know that everything will work together for my good. In other words, while in the midst of the storm, I can't see how my ship being tossed to and fro and being shoved of course can possibly be good. But if I trust in the one who controls the storm and the ship, my wind blown ship being forced into a different port actually puts me in the place where God intends for me to be. When God tells me from His word that I'm healed, I'm forgiven, I'm His child, I have a purpose, that He has a plan for me and that my eternity is secure in Him - I can bank on it because I can trust in His word. Regardless of what my circumstances may say at the moment - I can be thankful because I know that I can trust His word and it will not lie.

2) Trust in the Power of God's Hand - When life seems to be going wrong all around you and everything that you once counted on has gone topsy-turvy - you can still trust and know that God has the power to move on your behalf. Imagine you are in Babylon and you are one of 3 young Jewish boys who have somehow found themselves in a position of power in the administration of King Nebuchadnezzar. Everything is going great until the king makes a golden image and he expects everybody to bow down to it -- only you know there is no other god except Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the great God of Israel. So you don't bow. And you discover that the king won't give in either and therefore you are destined to received the prescribed punishment, a very hot furnace of fire designed to burn everything within it's path. You are bound with ropes and the fire is stoked up seven times hotter than it was before due to the kings wrath - a fire so hot that it killed the soldiers who were given the responsibility of putting you in. It's a pretty bad situation. It certainly does not seem fair. It certainly seems that life has suddenly taken a pretty drastic turn for the worse. But I love your attitude in this story . . . We know that our God is able to deliver us - but even if He does not we will still not bow and we will still remain faithful to our God. And so, amazingly and without a consideration of failure, God shows up in the midst of the fire and the only thing that burned were the things that were binding you up. Sometimes in those moments when we think our circumstances can't get worse, those are the times that God is up to His best work - so in the midst of all that, if we can remain thankful and faithful - He will not only show up but those things that are restricting us will be destroyed as He brings us through the fire once more.

3) Trust in the Power of God's Heart - When you consider that Jesus loved you so much, He moved heaven and earth to purchase you from the clutches of sin - when you consider that He would rather leave His eternal home than live there without you - when you consider that there is nothing that can ever separate us from that love, we can truly trust in the power of His heart toward us. Even at those moments when we can't even imagine how God's hand is in the midst of our situation, we can forever trust that His heart is toward us. As a good parent loves his or her children, imagine how much more our Creator loves us. The very same God who created mankind and then died to reconcile mankind to Himself and from sin can't help but be in love with His creation. Oh how He loves us! And because of that love, I can without hesitation say that I am thankful.

The Apostle Paul also wrote - that in whatever state he was in, he had learned to be content. Knowing that God is in control regardless of my current circumstances certainly causes me to discover a level of thankfulness that I never thought possible. This Thanksgiving - don't just celebrate a day off to eat turkey and watch football. Instead commit to a lifestyle of Thanksgiving - by trusting in God's Word, His Heart and His Hand and know that we've all got so much to be thankful for. Good stuff - Absolutely! Bad Stuff - you better believe it. In everything give thanks - for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you!

Until next time - GIVE THANKS! Love all of you! -- RP