A Time to be Thankfull

This is not what I originally had planned for this week’s newsletter.  I had figured that every other post you will see this month is going to be about Thanksgiving, and the things we’re/you’re thankful for, so I was going to just pass on that topic and write about a tablecloth instead (spoiler alert: that one is coming sometime down the road) but I had a last-minute change of mind (or heart).


“In all things give thanks…” (1 Thess. 5:8)


Thankfulness and gratitude are mentioned an awful lot in scripture.  I would hazard a guess that behind love (“for God is love” ~ 1 John 4:6), and alongside humility, giving thanks is among the leading topics spanning the 66 books of the Bible.


At the risk of appearing cliche, I still like to make a habit of devoting November to a focus on gratitude.  Yes, I do think that we should be grateful all year round.  No, I don’t do it just because everyone else does.  Yes, I do think it makes a positive difference.  


I am convinced that setting aside time to intentionally focus on something is beneficial.  God has often called His people to do just that (Passover, the Feast of Booths, the Feast of First Fruits, Shavuot, etc.)  The purpose of these festivals is to remind us of God’s goodness, and acknowledge God for who He is and what He’s done to protect and provide for His people.  It’s an opportunity to give Him thanks, and to rest in assurance of His sovereignty.  Does that sound a little archaic?  I disagree.  I would argue that this type of intentional gratitude is a thing we should still practice regularly, and here’s why (hopefully you can follow my logic):


I believe that the entire purpose of this life is to glorify God.  If that sounds selfless and condescending to you then good, it should, because you are not the center of the universe or even the center of your own life, and if you prickle at that idea then maybe you need to hear it again.  You are not what it’s all about.  That’s the “bad” news.  But it’s actually not. 


By serving your purpose (to glorify God) you step into the role that you were specifically designed for.  You put yourself in alignment with the very meaning of your story, and you will begin to live your fullest, richest, happiest and most soul-peaceful life, regardless of what else is happening to (and around) you.  That is the good news.  


This pattern of bad-overcome-by-good is the foundation of all of humanity, straight to the very core.  It’s the root of everything we do because life is a picture of the gospel message played out for (and by) us.  


Bad News: You’re gonna die (and you actually deserve it).  

Good News: God died to give you eternal life, and He already paid the bill.


Bad News: You are not perfect and not in control.

Good News: God is perfect and in control.


Bad News: Painful things are going to happen in this world.

Good News: God has overcome the world (John 16:33).


Bad News: There is a battle ahead for each of us in this life.

Good News: The end is already written; the war is already won.


These good news-es (note: Gospel means “good news”) are things to be very thankful for!  


Unfortunately, we usually only get around to being thankful for something once we’ve lost (or almost lost) it.  By our own stubborn pride, we usually require pain, pressure, struggle, and/or loss in order to grow, humble ourselves, and give thanks.


You’re all familiar with the term “I didn’t know what I had until it was gone.”  There are many others like it. 


But it doesn’t have to be that way.


What if we could skip over a large part of the pain and struggle in our lives by giving thanks first?  Will that “attitude of gratitude” actually affect a change in our lives?  Perhaps…


What if, instead of drowning in the regret of lost years when our kids graduate or our loved ones pass away, we are intentionally thankful for them every day?  I bet that gratitude would inspire a better relationship with that person BEFORE it’s too late. 


What if, instead of grumbling every day at work only to lament the loss of that very job, we give thanks for the opportunity to have it in the first place?  It might drive an improvement in performance that helps us to keep the job, or get a better one, which we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.


I would suggest that a grateful approach to life, on the whole, will have a tangible impact on some areas.  But not all, to be sure.  Some trials we can’t avoid just by being grateful.  And yet, we’re called to be grateful all the same.  Why?  God wants me to look to Him in my deepest moments of despair and say “Thank You”?!?!?  Yes.  And it’s for your own good.  It might not change the circumstances on the outside, but it will do so much more on the inside.


“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  The things that you have heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”  (Philippians 4:6-9)


Even though this is not a verse typically quoted on gratitude, it’s one of my favorite verses on the subject.   


I would hazard a guess that not many of us have experienced the life of hardship from which Paul pens this letter.  At the time of this writing, he had been blinded, stoned, beaten, shipwrecked, bitten by a poisonous snake, and was writing to the church at Philippi from prison.  Most of us probably have fewer physical trials than Paul did, but we can all relate to some degree I imagine.  


And we know that Paul, like us, experienced internal anguish at times as well:  

“Oh wretched man that I am!” (Rom. 7:24)

“That I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.” (Rom. 9:2)


Have you been through mourning?  Does anybody out there struggle with anxiety?  A little bit (dread of that next test) to crippling (each day is a struggle to survive and you can’t get comfortable in your own skin) or anything in between?  I’m guessing there are a few of you…


This verse is a battle tool specifically designed to beat hardships, sorrows, and anxiety - to overcome the bad with good - with gratitude.  Let’s look at it. 


Paul is writing a manual for the Philippian church, to ease their fear (remember the church was being heavily persecuted at this time).  He tells them “Do not be anxious” (which anyone who has suffered from anxiety knows is super helpful - not) but then instructs them on exactly HOW to settle their hearts and live their best lives, no matter how long or short those may be.  These are the steps that he gives them:


  1. Step One: Pray

    1. With Supplication 

      1. This is “the act of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly” according to Oxford Dictionary.  

      2. We see this often in scripture ~ 1 Kings 8:45, Psalms 86:6, Jer. 36:7, etc.  

      3. I imagine this as a passionate prayer - not passive.  It yearns and pleads and expects, and then rests in knowing that it has been heard, and the result is in God’s hands.

    2. With thanksgiving! 

      1. God wants us to acknowledge what we have to be grateful for while we’re asking for His intervention.

    3. Tell Him what you want.  

      1. Notes: He already knows it.  But you asking for it is humbling yourself under His rightful authority and care.  It’s putting your desires into His hands, and knowing that you’ll get what is best for you. 

  2. Step Two: Dwell on (and practice) the Good Stuff, not the bad stuff. 

    1. Paul tells us - amid a world of chaos and evil - to set our minds on the things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and good.  Don’t get hung up on the negativity.  Look to the good.


Paul is a man of many hardships, who is telling us that the way of safe passage through them all is to pray with gratitude and then focus on the good stuff.  This is thankfulness in its more powerful and potent form.  This is the thankfulness that affects change, from the inside out.  This is the thankfulness that glorifies God ~ and fulfills our purpose. 


This is what my November is set aside for.  Sometimes it is emotionally overwhelming.  I start to list off the things that I’m grateful for, and in doing so I automatically think of life without those things:


My faith

My life and health and functionality

My freedom to live, speak, and worship… and raise a family.

My family

My home and the life we’ve built here


This doesn’t even touch the countless material blessings, precious moments, and opportunities…


And that gets to me; right in the feels.  And that’s good.  This is the abundance of God’s love.  This is the God who watches over me.  This is the God who holds me.  He is worthy of my praise, my efforts, my life.


Paul recognized that the peace and strength he required to “do all things” (Phil. 4:13) came only from one place: the inexhaustible goodness of God.  And he sends everyone he loves straight to that source.  


Pray with thanksgiving, and dwell on the good stuff, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 


Happy Thanksgiving, friends.  


Creator: Ralph | Credit: Gratis Graphics

Copyright: Free to use under Creative Commons License

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