Being Thankful Always
Sunday, November 22, 2020
By Rev. James May
In this most extraordinary year of 2020 there are many who are living in fear almost as though they are under a death sentence if they get around other people who they are not associated with all of the time. This fear of what “could be” often leads to great depression and hopelessness as people are feeling more “cut off” from the outside world, and only feel safe in their own home.
And now that the virus is spreading again, that sense of doom is once again invading the land, and people are crying out for relief through a medical breakthrough and a vaccine that they hope will bring the answer.
Over the past 11 months families have suffered as they watched their loved ones leave this world and they could not even be by their side to say goodbye. Many are in the hospitals today and even their closest friends and family can’t go visit and bring encouragement. I was at the hospital just yesterday and the restrictions are so tight that only one visitor per day can visit any patient. The only good thing is that, at least at the place I went, Pastoral visits did not count as a visit that would keep someone else from going.
I want to address the instruction that the Apostle Paul gives to us in his first letter to the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I wonder how many of us this morning have had struggles with this teaching? Have their been times in your life when you faced troubles and problems and you wondered, “Just how am I supposed to act? How can I really be thankful in this situation?”
All of us, especially this year, have faced moments of apprehension concerning the Covid virus. Are we to be thankful that this virus has stricken our nation? How can we obey the Word of God and be thankful for it? Do we search for a purpose in it? Do we try to justify it by finding something that might be considered good out of it and try to proclaim that this is the will of God for Covid to be taking the lives of so many people? I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to justify the actions of God, who I know loves all men and would desire to see men saved and blessed and have a life of abundance, and then to say that God’s will is for men to suffer and die from Covid. How do you correlate, or make that fit together in your theology about God and his love for his people? Lord, help me to understand how I can be truly thankful for Covid, knowing all that it does in the lives of people?
Some of you have faced the loss of a loved one, or of a friend, or a brother or sister in Christ. Some have been related to Covid, but many have left this world for other reasons, because another word of God is in effect that says, “It is appointed to every man, once to die, and then to face the judgment.” No matter what may come that will bring the last stages and end of life, it is never a pleasant thing to see. Can you be thankful for the coming of death?
I know that in many instances, death is almost welcome because of the pain and suffering that is experienced, and it seems as though there is relief when the one who is suffering no longer suffers. It’s not as hard to accept death when a loved one has suffered a long time, and it sometimes seems like a huge burden has been lifted off of the shoulders of those who are left behind.
But not all have left this world after long periods of suffering and pain. Many are suddenly gone, having no prior suffering. That moment just comes quickly, perhaps by heart attacks, or even accidents. Those aren’t so easy to accept and the loss if magnified by the suddenness and not having a time to prepare for it. Again I ask you, “Is the power of death something that we should be thankful for?”
If we are to be thankful for it then why does the Bible tell us that death will eventually be forever destroyed and there will be no more death? Why should we be thankful for something so terrible that God has ordained that it should be no more? No matter whether it brings a release from a terrible burden that we must bear, how can we ever say that we are truly thankful for the loss of a loved one?
In our hearts we may shout, “Come on Paul, explain that to me! How can I be thankful for something so devastating and so painful? I’m struggling Paul and I need an answer. So where is that answer. Give it to me now!”
And let’s get off that subject for minute and let’s talk about some of the other things in life where we might struggle in finding a true spirit of thankfulness.
We are approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, and it’s a time when we really focus on fulfilling the word to be thankful for all things, and it reminds us that we probably haven’t acted very thankful for some of the things we have faced in the past.
What about rebellion in the home? Are you thankful for the rebellion of your kids who seem to be casting aside any form of Christianity and embracing the spirit of the antichrist in their lives? You’ve done your best to teach them about Jesus and the way of salvation. You’ve drug them to church again and again, and you’ve preached to them constantly about choosing the right friends and being careful of what they become involved in, but in spite of it all, they’ve chosen to go against everything you have tried to teach them.
Since Paul has said, “Be thankful for all things”, do you struggle with the idea of being thankful for that rebellion and denial of the truth of God? If we are to be thankful for rebellion, then why again does the Bible teach us that all who rebel against Jesus will face a lake of fire and rebellion will be utterly cast down and destroyed in hell? How can we find a way to thank God for something that is so destructive in the lives and hearts of people everywhere?
What about all of the want, and need, and poverty that brings starvation, famine and pain to much of the world? Are we to be thankful for that?
What about event the small things in life that are an inconvenience or a nuisance that we all face like, a flat tire on the highway with no spare and no jack to change it? What about the water heater not working on a cold winter morning when you get ready to shower? What about the power going out and suddenly you have no air conditioner on a hot summer night? What about going to the grocery store and there no toilet tissue or bread on the shelf?
I don’t know about you but in a lot of those smaller instances, I still struggle with being thankful for them. When I’m sitting on the side of the highway because I ran out of gas and I’m having to wait for someone to bring it to me, I have to say that I’m probably not sitting their praising God and thanking him that the gas tank is empty.
When I go into the store and everyone stares at me and I suddenly remember that I forgot my mask, I’m not shouting the victory and praising the Lord and being really thankful that I have to walk all the way to the car just to get a mask that I hate to wear, just to go get some bread, and then find out that there is no bread. I think we would all have to confess that the Joy of the Lord and the thankful heart is a little harder to stir up.
Our state has had a rough time of it this year with no less than 5 named hurricanes striking, bringing devastation, flooding and suffering to many. Many are still trying to recover from the 2016 flood and other disasters. Some had just finished their recovery efforts when along comes another and the repairs must being again.
For those who have suffered damage and whose lives have been turned upside down, I can only imagine that it has been very hard, if not impossible at time, to be thankful for the storms.
When you’re passing I front of your home and there’s water 3 feet deep inside your living room, “Did you break out in a prayer of thankfulness for the water inside?”
When you drive back into your neighborhood after the storm has passed and there are no homes left, but piles of rubble everywhere, how hard is it to praise God and say thank you for the power of the wind?
I think you get the idea by now that there are many circumstances in life that make it really hard to obey the teaching of Paul to be thankful all of the time.
Now there has to be a way to be thankful, just as we are instructed to do, but what is that way? How can I always be thankful?
The answer lies in two things that I want to speak about. The first one is going to surprise you perhaps. I know that it did me, when I first saw it many years ago.
For years I had read that scripture and for as many years I had read it wrong. Let’s look at it again.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Two things I must bring to your attention are these. First of all, Paul isn’t telling us to be thankful “for” all things. He says be thankful “in” all things. There’s a big difference in those two little words.
One says that my thankfulness is based on everything that happens to me, no matter how good or how bad they may seem. That’s not what Paul is saying. I can’t find any reason to be thankful for suffering, for death, for rebellion, for troubles, and for a lot of things that I face.
But I can find a way to be truly thankful “In” all things. Regardless of my outward circumstances, what is “in” me can and does remain thankful. I have Christ in me, and He is my hope! I have Jesus in Me and he is my Provider! When I have Jesus in me, then I know that “in” every circumstance, he is there to lead me, guide me, deliver me and provide for me. Because of Jesus, I can be thankful “in” all things even when I’m not thankful “for” all things.
The second thing is that we somehow justify everything that comes against us as being in the will of God because Paul says, “this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Is that really true? Now don’t misunderstand what I’m going to say, but I don’t believe that everything that comes against you is in God’s will. Things come your way that are often not in God’s will for your life, but they are allowed to come. God then takes those things and uses them to build faith, character and trust in him through it all. God can take those circumstances and turn them for our good depending upon whether we will allow him to or not.
Sin comes into your life through many means, but it was never in God’s will for you to sin. Jesus died on the cross so that you could be cleansed from sin. If sin was God’s will, then why would he go to such drastic lengths to deliver you from it.
Sickness and disease were never a part of God’s plan for your life. He desires that you live a healthy and whole life. He even created your body to live forever until sin brought the power of death upon you. God is the healer and the miracle worker, and he desires to see you well so that you may be the servant that he needs you to be in his kingdom. So sickness and disease are not part of God’s perfect will for your life, but he will take those things and use them for your good, either in the work of grace in your own body, and/or the work of witnessing of his faithfulness to those around you.
God’s will is never for men to be in want or in need, to be starving or living in abject poverty. He desires that all men have a life is abundant and full of good things. Our own choices often lead us into poverty and need, but God says that he will supply our needs according to his riches in glory. How can we then say that these things are in our lives according to God’s will?
What Paul is really saying is that a spirit of thankfulness should dwell in us, through all life, regardless of our circumstances, and that this indwelling, constant attitude of gratitude must be there because that is the will of God concerning our relationship with him. We have to be thankful in knowing that God is faithful and that he is going through the circumstances with us and that he has already made a way for us to be overcomers of everything we must face in this life.
One other question arises when it comes to having a thankful heart “in” all things. “What is required in order for that spirit of thankfulness to dwell in us at all times?”
It is not within the power of fallen man to have a heart that is filled with gratitude and thankfulness at all times. The heart of sinful man is too inwardly, and selfishly focused to be thankful when he is suffering, in pain, in need or finds himself in adversity. His only thought is to blame something or someone for his troubles, and he certainly isn’t trying to find a reason to be thankful for what he is facing.
A heart of thankfulness can only be had through a relationship with Jesus Christ who is the author of Salvation, and the only source of true hope in every area of life. And what builds that thankfulness is having absolute FAITH in God’s word and his promises. When we have faith to believe that through it all God will make a way! When we are fully persuaded that God is with us in every circumstance; when we are fully convinced that God’s word is True and that he never fails; When we are absolutely, and without any doubt, completely sold out to the knowledge that God is Good, that His mercies are everlasting, that his Love never fails; and that He understands our weakness, knows our sorrows, feels what we feel, and always has the answer we need, then we can really be thankful in all things!
When we have faith to know that whether God chooses to send us through the fire, or deliver us from the fire, God is with us. When we have faith to trust God to make all things right in the end, then we can face adversity with thankfulness that he will fulfill his word in us.
And finally, and most importantly, we can always be truly thankful in all things because we know that his world is not our home and that there is an eternal home in the heavens in the house of our Heavenly Father, where we are destined to live in the presence of the Lord forever.
All things are brought into an eternal and proper perspective because no circumstances of this life can keep us from being thankful because of the promise of eternal joy and peace through Jesus who is our intercessor and our Savior.
We should not forget that most people in this world do not have this hope, and because they have no faith in God to bring them through, they easily fall into despair. All they see is a future that is bleak, desolate and there are no real answers.
The end of those without faith in Jesus is one that is too terrible to think about. They will all fall into the flames of hell from which there is no escape forever. The pain and suffering of this life will only give way to a far greater pain and suffering, where they will dwell in gross darkness and tormented in the heat of judgment, forever forgotten by anyone who ever cared for them. They’ll be completely alone and in the hands of a merciless tormenting devil who will never cease hating them forever.
For those who don’t have Jesus in their heart, I don’t find it hard to imagine that they have a hard time being thankful for anything. Even though they receive God’s blessings in this life, they have no hope or faith in anything being good in the end.
You can be most thankful, every moment of your life, in every circumstance of your life, both good and bad, that you have that great hope of eternal life where there will be peace, joy and Love forever. Even in the worst circumstances of your life you know that Jesus is there and that in the end, he will work all things to your good if you just Love him and serve him.
When you gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving Day, or when you sit down to enjoy your dinner, remember to be thankful, for that thankfulness is God’s will concerning you. At the same time, remember that some who join you may not have that hope of eternal life, so share Jesus with them and give them the chance to learn what real thankfulness is all about.
May God help us all just to be Thankful, and may you all have a blessed time of thanksgiving together.
