Markus Bach tells of flying above the majestic Selkirk Range in
British Columbia with a strange and intricate mechanism in the tail
of the plane. It was called a magnetometer. This instrument was
used in Ontario to detect 60 millions tons of silver, copper and zinc.
It is an "electronic prospector in the sky." Unlike the old time
prospector who had to climb the hills and with pick and shovel dig
his way to uncertain riches, these modern prospectors sat in
comfortable bucket seats soaring over the mountains like a seagull
while the instruments were computing all the information needed to
tell them where treasures were to be found. No one would ever
suspect that by means of this instrument those men in the plane were
seeing the unseen. They were seeing what men on the ground could
not see. They were penetrating forests and rocks, and they were
detecting that which was hidden to the natural eye.
Paul did not know anything about instruments for discovering
riches in the rocks, but he had already discovered an instrument
equivalent to the magnetometer which enabled one to find riches in
all of life's experiences so that the possessor could be one who was
always thankful, no matter what. We could call Paul's discovery a
thankometer if we keep in mind that it is an instrument which is
itself unseen, and which is built into the very heart and mind of the
obedient and perceptive believer. It gives the believer the amazing
ability to pierce through the crust of reality into the core and
discover riches which are unseen by the natural eye.
It was the possession of this advanced divine technology that
enabled Paul to be a persistent optimist through all the trials he
endured. Throw him into prison and he looks upon it as an
opportunity to catch up on his choir practice. He and Silas sing
praises to the Lord in the prison. Let the blind think they are
defeating Paul by running him out of town, stoning him, and
afflicting him by every means possible. Paul sees an altogether
different picture, and he writes in II Cor. 2:14, "But thanks be to
God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us
spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere."
Paul's thankometer was water proof and shock proof. In spite of
ship wreck and stoning it kept operating and caused Paul to see
blessings everywhere. His optimism was comprehensive and
covered every possible circumstance. He wrote in Phil. 4:4, "Rejoice
in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice." In verse 6 he wrote,
"Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God." Paul did not let his optimism become limited by
circumstances. He wrote to the persecuted Thessalonians who were
suffering for Christ, and he commanded them in the same
comprehensive terms of our text and said in verse 16-18, "Rejoice
evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks."
Paul expected every Christian to be equipped with a thankometer
which was to be kept in operation full time. Christians are not to be
joyful and prayerful and thankful on a part time basis. If we are
joyful only when all is well, then we have not risen above the natural
level, for this is only normal. Who would be impressed with a
magnetometer if it was a device that let a man down by a rope with a
pick and shovel and let him dig away at the mountain to see if there
was any valuable metals? The fancy name would only add to our
laughter at the commonness of it. Likewise, the name Christian does
not impress anyone who sees that the label does not affect the
actions and attitudes of the one who wears it. The non-Christian
must certainly laugh at the professed believer who goes to all the
trouble of prayer, worship, and Bible study just to be like everyone
else who do none of these things.
Paul says in everything gives thanks. That is, under all
circumstances. To be thankful just when circumstances are such as
to call forth natural gratitude is to give no hint that Christians are
on a unique level. If the Christian does not possess a thankometer,
or whatever else you want to call that power which enables them to
see treasures of beauty in the junk heaps of life, then he is living in
voluntary blindness on the level of the natural and unredeemed
man. Like all of God's gifts, this one is also free to those who ask
and seek for it. Paul is urging Christians to hunger after this
greater vision of reality that they might perceive that which will
make them thankful, no matter what.
Paul says that it is God's will that we be thankful under all
circumstances. This is one thing we need never doubt, for it is stated
clearly. We know then that it is possible for everyone of us to
acquire the vision of Paul and be incurable optimists. Knowing that
perpetual thankfulness is God's will is the first step on the road to
acquiring the ability to see the unseen. We tend to see what we are
looking for. The focus of our mind determines what we perceive
with our eyes. We are blind to all evidence but that which confirms
what we have already predetermined is reality. This is why spiritual
truth is foolish to the unbeliever. He has already determined before
considering the evidence that the spiritual is non-existent. He
cannot allow himself to see its reality and so he is blind to it.
If you have determined in your mind that Friday the 13th is a
day of bad luck, you will be blind to all the good and fortunate
events of the day, and concentrate only on the bad things. The
Christian is to be one who shatters superstitions and prejudices by
concentrating on the positive and valuable. He finds the single star
in the vast expanse of dark and cloudy sky. He sees the vein of gold
in the mountain of common dirt. He sees the glory of the
commonplace, and the cause for joy even in trial. He can even obey
his Lord and rejoice and be exceeding glad when persecuted, for he
knows the great reward that awaits him in Christ.
The Christian who is not being thankful under all circumstances
has some faulty parts in his thankometer and needs to turn to God,
the Master Technician, for repairs, for we can only be adequate
Christians and effective witnesses when we can fulfill God's will in
being thankful no matter what. Thanksgiving is a good time for a
spiritual eye examination, or a thankometer tune up. It is a good
time to look at yourself and your attitudes, and to evaluate how you
see life. We need to determine if we are like those who, as Trench
writes, "Murmur when in a blue sky one speck of cloud appears."
We are to be like those who hearts are filled with thankful love if,
"but one steak of light, one ray of God's mercy, guilds the darkness
of the night." What do we see in the-
I. TRIVIAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE.
In contrast to Paul's picture of the ideal Christian who is
thankful no matter what, what are those people who are
complaining no matter what? The sad fact is that all of us tend to
conform, to some degree, to this pathetic image. The poet has given
us a fairly good description of this far from extinct creature called
the chronic complainer.
Once there was a man whose name was Horner,
Who use to live on Grumble Corner.
Grumble Corner in Cross Patch Town,
And he never was seen without a frown.
He grumbled at this, he grumbled at that.
He growled at the dog, he growled at the cat.
He grumbled at morning, he grumbled at night,
And to grumble and growl was his chief delight.
This sounds like an eyewitness account of a man I once worked
for. He was a man who, as my father would say, had an even
disposition-he was mad all the time. No matter how happy the
occasion, you could be sure he would not let any joy slip through
and rob him of his reputation as the shipping room crab. Nothing
was ever good enough or fast enough. He even shouted at the truck
drivers when they came in. You would think that even in the
darkest life a little sun must shine, and it did with him too. Things
did go well sometimes and there was just nothing to gripe about.
But he had a defense against just such occasions. The secret weapon
all of use when we are determined to be pessimistic, and that is to
complain about the trivial. When all else fails there is always the
weather.
As a rule a man's a fool; when its hot he wants it cool.
When its cool he wants it hot; always wanting what its not.
It is such a habit to complain about the weather that it is
practically a custom in our culture. It is only a trivial aspect in our
lives, but we need to apply what we know is God's will and seek even
here to be thankful in every circumstance. We need to have our
thankometer working even on the most miserable days. We need to
be like the country preacher who one winter battled through wind
and sleet to get to the village chapel. He began his prayer, "O Lord,
this is a wretched day, and no mistake... but we thank thee Lord,
that everyday isn't as bad."
If you look, you can find riches in the most dismal of days, for
the clouds and rain cannot dim the light that comes from within.
Saul Kane in John Masefield's The Everlasting Mercy was
converted and saw then what he had never seen before. His eyes
had been open to perceive a deeper reality and he said, "The
running brook, to my new eyes, was babbling out of Paradise; the
water rushing from the rain were singing, Christ has risen again."
Even the commonplace and trivial is to lead the believer to praise
God with thanksgiving.
II. TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE.
This is where the Christian really needs to shine, for if his light
goes out in the winds of adversity the world will not be impressed
with the sustaining power of the Gospel. We need to see Paul's
meaning here accurately lest we think it is a mountain top ideal
impossible for us to attain. Paul is not saying we are to be thankful
for all things and all circumstances. He is saying we are to be
thankful in them, and that is far different. The first is sheer
nonsense, but the second is both possible and practical.
No one can be thankful for every circumstance. It is impossible
to be thankful for what you despise and wish was not. I cannot be
thankful for many circumstances, but I can be thankful in them.
Paul was not thankful for the Judaisers who confused the church
and caused Christians to fall back on trusting the law rather than
the grace of Christ. Paul is not thankful for the conflict in the
Corinthian church that led to a weakness of their witness and a
failure of their fellowship. Paul was not thankful for the
disobedience that led some of the Corinthian Christians into such
severe judgment that some even died. Paul was not thankful for any
of these things, but he was thankful in them, for he was a channel of
the grace of Christ to bring healing and solutions to all of these
problems.
Don't ever give the impression that Christians are to be thankful
for all things. This would mean that we are to be thankful for evil,
sin, failure, blasphemy, folly, and every facet of the kingdom of
darkness. This would mean that we would have to be thankful for
the devil himself. Such an idea is absurd and is a denial of the
reality of evil.
Abraham Lincoln was a grateful man, and he made a great
Thanksgiving proclamation, but he bore a huge burden and was not
thankful for the horrors of the Civil War. He wrote to a friend: "If
what I feel were divided to the whole human race there would not be
one happy face on earth." Many are the hidden heroes and heroines
of history who bare heavy loads, but who do not break down in
defeat, but go on serving others and bringing light into the darkness
of those who are unaware of the burdens they carry.
They call me strong because my tears I shed where none can see,
Because I smile, tell merry tales, and win the crowds to me.
They call me strong because I laugh to ease and aching heart,
Because I keep the sweet side out, and hide the bitter part.
Author Unknown.
This is not hypocrisy, but thankometry, which is the art of
obeying God and being thankful in every circumstance. It is being
thankful, for example, that you can still help another when you feel
helpless to help yourself. If we lack the ability to see any reason to
be thankful in trying circumstances, then it is time for a spiritual
overhaul. Christians have no business out on the highway of life
with a defective thankometer, for this leaves them blind and limited
to their natural eyes, and they are liable to injure others as well as
themselves. We need to ask God to open our eyes to see the unseen
so that we can always be thankful, no matter what.
