Greetings in the name of the God of blessing. God has not
stopped His blessing, even in these challenging days. He is still pouring out
His love and compassion in practical and gracious ways on all mankind, and
particularly on His children. That is His character.
Our response to the blessings of God should be thankfulness.
This is not an easy practice, especially in hard times, but it is both
necessary and beneficial. "In everything give thanks: for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (I Thessalonians 5:18).
One year my pastor preached this verse just before
Thanksgiving. I had been scrambling in my mind to come up with something to say
in case I was asked to share at Thanksgiving dinner, but every time I came up
with a potential object of thankfulness, I found some reason to reject it. The
truth was that I was not thankful for anything, but God wanted me to be
thankful in everything. The problem wasn't that I didn't have blessings; it was
that my spirit was not thankful. I had a little wrestling match with God, which
He won, as I chose to be thankful even in what was an extremely difficult
season of life.
That is not the only time I ever wrestled with that issue. I
remember once in college when I must have been complaining about all the hard
things of life, (which at that time, weren't really that bad, but they seemed
so to an 18-year-old). Someone encouraged me to make a list - I think of ten
things - that I was thankful for. Once I got into the spirit, I couldn't stop,
and I believe my list extended into the hundreds, and it took me a few days to
have time to record them all. And that was only focusing on
"positive" things, when in reality we are to be thankful even in the
difficulties, knowing that they are part of God's divine plan.
During another challenging season of life, when I was really
struggling with negative thinking, I developed what I called my "thankful
game." I would do it at different points in the day, often at the
beginning and end of the day or whenever I felt my thoughts going in the wrong
direction. My mental instruction to myself was, "Quick! Give me five
things you're thankful for!"
I usually focused on one aspect of life and gave five related
things. If I were to do the "game" at this moment, I would include
the following: 1) I'm thankful that God has protected my health. 2) I'm
thankful that I have been able to continue working. 3) I'm thankful that God is
in control of this whole mess. 4). I'm thankful that this trial will end. 5)
I'm thankful for the spiritual sensitivity God has worked in me through this
time.
A final example. One of my milestone birthdays fell during
one of the hardest seasons of my life. Everything was in upheaval. It was only
two months after I had been involuntarily separated from my job, my ministry,
my church, my support, my independence, and nearly everything familiar in life.
I actually wasn't troubled by the big number of my birthday; I was very
troubled by feeling alone and forgotten and cut off from everyone.
On that day, God brought me to Psalm 103. "Bless the
LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the
LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." As the tears rolled
down my cheeks, I viewed this psalm as my birthday gifts, things I could be
thankful for even if no one else remembered me or gave me anything. The psalm
is a beautiful collection of God's blessings, all of which are worthy of
thanks: forgiveness, healing, redemption, lovingkindness, tender mercies, good
and satisfying provision, renewal, righteous judgment, revelation of God,
graciousness, longsuffering, compassion, understanding of our weakness,
faithfulness.
God is good to us - always. Even in the hardest of times, He
is always with us, always working, always providing. God's character never
changes; we can get lost in thankfulness just for who God is. We can certainly
be thankful for how God contrasts with the people and situations and chaos of
our world. We can be thankful for God's help in navigating the challenges of
life, and that He never leaves us on our own to figure it all out.
With all these times in my life when God has confronted me
with this truth, I have it down by now, right? Wrong! Why did this concept come
to me today, except that I needed to again be reminded. No matter what life
looks like, I need to thank God. I definitely need to thank Him for the
blessings, and with His help, I need to thank Him also for the things that I
don't yet see as blessings.
In these challenging days, I pray that you will be able to
see God's goodness and blessing. Even now, may you begin to see the wonderful
things that God is accomplishing in the midst of fear, chaos, and upheaval. May
you see His greatness in a fallen world. God bless you, my sisters.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment