For our Thanksgiving holiday message, I want to open with a little humor. “A kindergarten teacher was telling her students all about the Pilgrims as she prepared them for the Thanksgiving season. After one little girl had gone home and shared the details she remembered from her teacher’s lesson, her mother asked if she could tell her what the Pilgrims ate during that first Thanksgiving. The girl was stumped, so she said, “I can’t remember, Mommy, but you can ask my teacher. She was there!”(1)
In August of 1620, Puritans from England left their homes and comforts to begin a new life in the New World. They boarded two small ships, the Speedwell and the Mayflower, to pursue religious freedom in America. Not long after leaving, the Speedwell developed leaks. Most of her passengers and crew transferred over to the Mayflower before the Speedwell turned back.
A total of 102 Pilgrims suffered through sixty-seven days of rough sailing before they arrived at Plymouth Bay in November. There was nobody to greet them, no stores for supplies, nor homes to buy. They endured hardships of a very cold winter and the perils of sickness. At one point, only six people were well enough to care for the sick and dying.
By March of the following year, only 51 of the original 102 Pilgrims were still alive, and it would be another two years before a ship arrived with more supplies. Nonetheless, these brave pioneers celebrated their newfound freedom to worship as they desired.(2)
They were grateful to be alive and thankful for their religious freedom. They were also grateful for that first thanksgiving meal during the following year in 1621. Commentator Donald Barnhouse says, “Thanksgiving Day dates back to the day when the Pilgrims were filled with joy as they saw their barns well-filled and their [storage rooms] well stocked against the approaching winter. Yet Thanksgiving Day for the true Christian is something far deeper and far wider than the joy of autumn harvest blessings. Thanksgiving Day for the Christian is an entrance into the deepest thoughts of God, so that we may say, ‘Yes, Father, I am learning to be thankful for everything’.”(3)
We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” The Pilgrims endured great difficulty during their journey to America and during that first hard winter. Perhaps this has been a difficult year for you, but the fact remains that we still have much for which we can be thankful – even in the midst of hardship. This morning, we’re going to look at how giving thanks in everything can help us during times of pain and difficulty. So, at this time, I want to invite you to stand in honor of God’s Word as we read 2 Corinthians 4:15-18:
Abounding in Thanksgiving (2 Corinthians 4:15-18)
15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In verse 15, when Paul said, “all things are for your sakes,” he was talking about his ministry efforts; how “all” trials and “all” persecutions that he endured was for the purpose of sharing the message of God’s grace. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul stated his message as follows: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Paul preached that we cannot (and do not) earn the forgiveness of sins and eternal life by our own works; and he was persecuted for this message, as it offended the sensibilities of the religious and self-righteous.
Salvation is a free gift, for that’s what the word grace (charis) means in the Greek. It is freely given and freely received; and grace was bestowed through God’s Son. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God “gave” us His Son; or rather, He “gifted” His Son to us. When the non-religious heard the message of grace, concerning the free gift of salvation, it led to joy and thanksgiving. And their public testimony and praises of God’s goodness resulted in the Lord being glorified.
When Paul said in verse 16, “Therefore we do not lose heart,” he was saying that this is the effect of thanksgiving. It results in a strengthening and resolve of spirit. The King James Version says, “For which cause we faint not.” We faint not; we do not grow weary in our faith, but we persevere. Because of a grateful attitude, believers would be able to withstand any hardship with faith and endurance without falling into despair.
In verse 16, Paul also stated that “our outward man is perishing,” thereby, stressing one of the hardships that the believers faced. The Broadman Bible Commentary states that “Paul must have been perfectly aware that the strenuous nature of his ministry was taking a toll on his physical frame . . . He saw it was killing him. This was no mere biological observation that from youth on[ward] we are dying people; it was a recognition that this particular frame was wasting away, like a garment getting worn out through use.”(4) Paul endured imprisonment, beatings, and hunger, which all took a toll on his physical body. Back in verses 8-9, he said, “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” We can see right here that Paul was thankful for the good things taking place in his life, even though there were things that led to his outward man perishing.
Now, perhaps we are not enduring physical harm as a result of persecution, or experiencing the wasting away of our body as we deprive ourselves of food, clothing and shelter at the expense of the gospel ministry; but many of us do know what it’s like to experience physical pain, and maybe we have watched a loved one waste away from a disease. Allow me to share an illustration on how thanksgiving can help us under such circumstances. Author and speaker Jill Briscoe writes:
My daughter, Judy, agreed to accompany me to Australia where I was to speak at a conference. I was thankful to enjoy a few weeks of my daughter’s company, and we excitedly planned our trip together. However, two days before we were to leave, my back went out . . .
Later, as we climbed aboard the plane, Judy asked, “Are you OK?” “The long rest will help,” I replied hopefully. But by the time we arrived in Sydney, I couldn’t move! Airline personnel carried me off the plane and laid me gently on the airport floor. I looked up at a circle of worried faces. The welcoming committee, clutching huge bunches of flowers, did not look at all thankful to see their guest speaker from this angle!
That night, wide awake from jet lag, Judy and I began to plan. “You’ll have to help me, Judy,” I told her. “I’ll try to take two meetings a day, but you’ll have to do the rest.” “Mother, I’ve only given two talks to the youth group,” she protested. “What were they about?” I asked. “Stress and anxiety,” she answered, grinning. “Perfect,” I replied. “I’ll help you with them.” That night we worked together on her talks.
At the first meeting I noticed Judy praying for me as I spoke. And when she spoke, the women loved her. Somehow, we struggled through together – and we began to be thankful again. We thanked God for each other, for the privilege of ministering together, and for the funny things that gave us relief along the way. We thanked God for showing Judy her own unique gifts.
We had nearly given up, but God gave us the grace and the strength to go on and finish the course. By the time we boarded the plane to fly back home, we had a new vision of a ministry together that has now come to fruition in new and deeper ways.
I’ve often revisited the lessons we learned on our trip. Above all, I’ve tried not to “waste” the pain that God allows in my life – to let the pain drive me to Him, not away from Him – and to be thankful in all circumstances.(5)
A grateful heart allowed Jill Briscoe to open herself to see the plan that God had to work through her pain for His glory; to work through her pain, in order to move her daughter into a place to share in her ministry. And as strange as it may sound, this resulted in Briscoe being thankful for her pain; and her grateful heart enabled her to keep pressing on. And as she continued serving the Lord through her pain, her inward man (or inward woman) was being renewed and restored. William Barclay states, “The very sufferings which may leave a man with a weakened body may be the very things which strengthen the sinews of his soul.”(6)
In verse 16, Paul spoke of the “inward man.” In 1 Peter 3:4, we read about “the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” The inward man is the hidden man of the heart, made quiet and peaceable through thanksgiving. When Paul stated that “the inward man is being renewed day by day,” he was emphasizing how, even though the flesh may be wasting away through worry, pain or trial, our spiritual being (or spiritual person) is getting more and more healthy and growing as we serve the Lord with thanksgiving – and the inward man is what matters in eternity.
In verse 17, we read about “our light affliction, which is but for a moment.” Thanksgiving allows us to have the proper perspective; to view the difficulties of life as bearable and not so heavy; even as momentary. They are, in fact, only momentary when compared to the length and breadth of eternity. If our heart is full of thanksgiving, and we have the understanding that our burdens are light and momentary, then we might view our trials as Matthew Henry, a man who is best remembered for his Bible commentary.
During his lifetime he was known for his gratitude. Once, while walking down a street, he was robbed. The thieves took everything of value. Later that night, Matthew Henry wrote the following in his diary: “I am thankful that during these years I have never been robbed until now. Also, even though they took my money, they did not take my life. And although they took all I had; it was not much. Finally, I am grateful that it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”(7)
Also notice in verse 17, how Paul contrasted “light affliction” with the “weight of glory.” The term “glory” is interesting. In The Broadman Bible Commentary, we read that “the language goes beyond definition, as the apostle vainly tries to describe the indescribable. The real object of hope, as Paul has again and again reminded us, is glory . . . The weight of it is out of all proportion to the lightness of our afflictions.”(8) Think of it this way. If you were to place the “afflictions of this life” on one side of a see-saw (lever), and “glory” on the other side of the see-saw (lever), and then try to balance them (on a fulcrum); it doesn’t matter how far out you move the afflictions of this life along the plank, it will never “balance out” with the glory and splendor of eternity. Glory is far greater!
Something else that thanksgiving does is it allows us to focus on what really matters, which are “the things which are not seen,” mentioned in verse 18. The things which are seen, such as the trials and tribulations of this life, which we behold each and every day, are things that will lead to discouragement or even depression. But Paul reminds us that these things are only temporary, just as he said about our “light affliction” back in verse 17. He describes the things which are not seen as things which are eternal. They are things seen in the mind’s eye through faith; things of the next life in the place called “glory” (v. 17). Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Robert Louis Stevenson tells of an old [cattle farmer]. Someone was sympathizing with him about his daily work amidst the muck of the [barn] and asking him how he could go on doing it day in and day out, and the old man answered finely, “He that has something beyond need never weary.” The man who sees the light and keeps [pressing into it] also endures as seeing the invisible.(9)
Commentator Warren Wiersbe says, “A. W. Tozer used to remind us that the invisible world described in the Bible was the only ‘real world.’ If we would only see the visible world the way God wants us to see it, we would never be [discouraged]. The great men and women of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 achieved what they did because they ‘saw the invisible.’ The things of this world seem so real because we can see them and feel them; but they are all temporal and destined to pass away. Only the things of the spiritual life will last . . . [So] how can you look at things that are invisible? By faith, when you read the Word of God. We have never seen Christ or heaven, yet we know they are real because the Word of God tells us so. Faith is ‘the evidence of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1).”(10)
Time of Reflection
As we learned back in verse 15, the message of God’s grace and the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, results in thanksgiving. We have also seen how a grateful heart enables believers to withstand hardship and hold the right perspective; that this present life with all of it trials and troubles is not our real life. It is only temporary. A thankful heart also helps us to see God’s ability to work through our pain for His glory; which in turn, leads to even more thanksgiving. You see, thanksgiving is cyclical. When we are thankful, we focus on what is good and right; and once we identify what is right and true, it leads to even more thanksgiving; which, in turn, leads to faith and spiritual fortitude.
But here’s the thing. The cycle of thanksgiving has to start somewhere. We must reach a place in life (rock bottom if you will) where the only place we can look is up – and when we look up, we see God. We will only look unto God when we realize the depravity of our sorry state. The Bible says that we’re sinners (Romans 3:23) and that there is a penalty for our sin, which is spiritual death (Romans 6:23). Allow me to share one last story that illustrates the grace of the heavenly Father:
One Thanksgiving afternoon, while waiting for the expected feast, two sisters went outside to play. Being a bit mischievous, they soon found something that looked like fun to do, which all too soon led them to something they had been told not to do. Their father came into the backyard and found the evidence of their disobedience and called them to him. He explained to the girls that they must go to their room and that neither would be allowed to eat Thanksgiving dinner until the one who had disobeyed him confessed.
So, the girls went to their room. A while later the girls heard their mother calling them for dinner. Not knowing what was going to happen, they went and took their usual places around the table. The girls noticed that their father was not seated at the table as usual and asked, “Where is Daddy?”
The mother replied, “Daddy said that you girls could not eat Thanksgiving dinner with us today until one of you came to him and confessed your disobedience. Since neither of you came, Daddy decided that he would take your punishment himself – and so, he will not be eating Thanksgiving dinner with us today.”(11)
When we realize that we have lived in disobedience to the heavenly Father, and when we consider where it has led us, then we will look up. And when we look up unto God, we will find our reason for thanksgiving. And what is that reason? It is God’s grace poured out on undeserving sinners, as He gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins (John 3:16). Like the father who gave up his place at the Thanksgiving table for his unrepentant daughters, our heavenly Father gave up His Son for unrepentant sinners like you and me. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” If you want a reason to be thankful, then come and receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life by confessing Jesus as Savior and Lord.
NOTES
(1) Raymond McHenry, McHenry’s Quips, Quotes & Other Notes (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), p. 315.
(2) Raymond McHenry, McHenry’s Stories for the Soul (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2001), pp. 287-288.
(3) Donald Grey Barnhouse, Timeless Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004), p. 474.
(4) G. R. Beasley-Murray, “2 Corinthians – Philemon,” The Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p. 32.
(5) David P. Barrett, ed., Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasions (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2002), pp. 201-202.
(6) William Barclay, “The Letters to the Corinthians,” The Daily Study Bible (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1956), p. 225.
(7) McHenry, McHenry’s Quips, Quotes & Other Notes, p. 118.
(8) Beasley-Murray, p. 33.
(9) Barclay, p. 227.
(10) Warren Wiersbe, “The Complete New Testament in One Volume,” The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 515.
(11) Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, , 1997), p. 362.
