Tuesday, November 16

Tuesday

Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

I have a friend from the former Soviet Union who has this wonderful little habit. Whenever he hears some bit of good news, regardless of how small or seemingly insignificant, he quickly says "Thank you, Jesus." He will even do this when someone else is sharing about the good things in their own life. His first reaction to almost anything is to say “Thank you, Jesus.” I have always appreciated that habit in my friend. Sometimes, as I'm going about my daily work and dealing with the seemingly mundane circumstances of my own life, I find myself remembering my friend and giving out a "Thank you, Jesus" of my own.

I think this is close to what the Apostle Paul is urging us to do in the passage above; to live our lives with an ever increasing awareness of the goodness of God all around us. To recognize that in every situation, we have more to be thankful for than we realize. We are so accustomed to the traditional holiday of Thanksgiving in the U.S. that it is easy to forget that the formal observance of one day a year is not what the rest of the world means when they use the term thanksgiving. It is really kind of ridiculous to limit our thanksgiving to one day a year in one corner of the world.

Anyone who knows the Bible knows that we certainly did not invent the idea of holding a festival to praise and worship God for His blessings. Israel's national calendar contained great feasts to celebrate the harvest and commemorate events such as God's deliverance of the nation from slavery in Egypt. In addition to these festivals, the people observed the weekly Sabbath by worshiping God and remembering His provision. In fact, you might accurately say that their entire lives were centered around praise & thanksgiving to God.

Paul says that this is God’s will for us, that our lives be constantly marked by thanksgiving to God. Of course many of us will wonder how it is possible to thank God in the midst of pain, loss, grief, or illness. Some people who have gone through such things came out of the other side of them bitter and resentful toward God for allowing such things to happen to them, certainly not "thankful". How could it be that we're to give thanks in everything, when that "everything" includes such horrible experiences of pain and suffering?

It is critical that we look closely at what Paul actually says, and what he does not say here. He does not say to thank God "for" everything. That would involve a passive, fatalistic "victim" mentality to the troubles and trials of life; and it seems to me that it would require that we "turn off our brains" and numb ourselves to reality. Paul doesn't say, give thanks "for" all things. Notice instead that this passage commands us to give thanks "in" all things. There's a big difference. To give thanks "for" all things is a matter of surrendering to those things in a passive way. To give thanks "in" all things is a bold act of faith that recognizes that all is not as it should be but that God is still on the Throne and is able to bring about good through what seems so bad. The Bible tells us that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28); and that we can "rejoice in trials, knowing that trial produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4). Because that's true, we can give thanks to Him "in" all things because of what He's accomplishing "through" those things.

I believe God is pleased when He sees honesty in our thanks. He doesn't want us to say, in a fake sort of way, "Thanks, God, for all this pain and suffering. I really like it." He would much rather we say, "Father, I don't like what's happening. It feels as if everything is falling apart. In fact, I wish with all my heart that none of this was happening to me. I don't understand why you've let this happen. But I do know that you're in control. I do know that, no matter what, you'll never change. I do know that you have decreed a good purpose for these things that are happening to me; and that, through them, you are conforming me to the image of your Son.