Yesterday I experienced a stint in the emergency room. For all of us, I believe, those are the moments that remind us just how fragile we really are. There in the waiting room, I recalled the poignant words of James … “You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes … you ought to say, ‘if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”
“If the Lord wills.” I think that’s the part that you and I are most likely to forget. We tend to make our plans as if our plans are, by nature, His plans. Then, along comes life to remind us that the Bible was true all along.
So it is with thanksgiving. We are to give thanks for whatever comes our way (1 Thessalonians 5:18). When we read that verse, and take it in, we realize the connection between the will of God and our giving of thanks. Thanksgiving is always the right thing to do. It is always God’s will for us to be His thankful people. The temporal circumstances of our lives are not the main thrust of thanksgiving, but God is.
So, how do we give thanks in life’s most difficult seasons? When our moment of imprisonment comes, literal or figurative, how do we sing hymns of praise like Paul and Silas? When our fate is uncertain under a tremendous weight of injustice or unfairness, like so many of our Christian forefathers and foremothers have endured, how do we stay the course of faith with a grateful heart? When God doesn’t seem to be working on our behalf, and when our lives feel shattered by overwhelming grief, how do we bring ourselves even to utter, “Thank You, God.”? These questions lie at the center point of our walk with Christ.
If you’ll let me, I’ll share with you here what’s bubbling up in my soul today …
T – Take just a moment to think about how good the Lord has been. By now, He has a track record on our behalf. We have tasted His mercies. We have witnessed His deliverance. We have known firsthand His “working all things for our good” – even some circumstances in which, for us, no hope remained.
H – He, and He alone, is writing my story. I may not understand this particular chapter, but it’s part of a grand design that’s nothing less than perfect for me. Even when I can’t understand what He’s doing, I can trust Him, fully.
A – Ask Him to show you exactly what you need to know. That’s part of the way in which we “pray without ceasing.” For me, sometimes at least, that means giving up my insistence to know the details regarding the next ten steps that I will take. God’s Word will always be enough for me to know that I can take one more step in the direction of following Christ.
N – Never waste a tear. Perhaps this is one of those seasons for you. It’s not particularly cheerful or full of obvious good fruit. That’s exactly where our Lord does His best work in us. That’s where He matures us. That’s where He transforms us. That’s where He longs to draw us closer than ever to His “precious, bleeding side.” I believe that one day soon, here or in eternity, you will thank Him for this season.
K – Kindness is always God’s nature. “Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” That’s who God is, and who He will always be. You and I are not leaning on thin air right now, but we are leaning on His everlasting arms.
S – Satan couldn’t stop the empty tomb! In history’s most startling example of the forces of darkness unleashed in their fury against the forces of light, we’re left with no doubt about which forces ultimately prevail. The same Jesus who died and rose for us is praying for us in this very hour. He has not left us, nor will He ever.
I pray that these truths are a blessing to you today, no matter what you’re up against. If we will but look around, we will see evidence of God’s faithfulness even in our most difficult circumstances. I remember the words of William Cowper (1774): “Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face!”
Sweet Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with thanksgiving! For us, may it be not just a meal, or even a holiday, but a lifetime of humble praise.
Pastor Charles
Thank you Pastor Charles. I don’t know why my having a car wreck and sustaining injuries is a Thanksgiving Blessing, but HE yearns for me to be blessed during this recovery time. My friends at church have covered me in prayer and so has my family. Oh Lord, help me to look and to find YOUR BLESSINGS in this time of my life.My I remember what I tell my Grandchildren all of the time. JESUS is here around me and in me through HIS Holy Spirit. Praise His Name. Hallelujah!!