If you've read my last few posts, you know what the most important thing to do today is. If not, you might want to, just to make sure you really understand why the most important thing you can do today is: be thankful.
Why be thankful?
I remember years ago, I think I was still in college. A long time ago.... I read a book called "Praise the Lord, Anyway." (PTLA was the predecessor to WWJD for those that remember that fad.) It was a good book about praising the Lord no matter what happened. It really was a good book, and helped me a lot. Where it fell short, I think, in retrospect, #1, was that it emphasized "anyway." Kind of like "in everything give thanks but not for everything." And, #2, as important, valuable and helpful as praise is - for one thing, it is in effect recognizing that God is, and probably even that He is a rewarder - it's still one step short of gratitude - actually thanking God for the situation.
To thank God for whatever you are facing, good or bad, is to lay open your heart and say, "I fully trust You." No matter what, you know that God cares for you. He has your best interest at heart. He will not allow you to suffer beyond what you are able and He will make a way of escape. He will bring glory to Himself and show forth His grace through this situation. He will use this situation to mold you into the image of Christ, to help you become more like Him, holy, full of faith, joyful, to lead you into a life abiding in His presence, resting in His power, His love, His grace, His arms. He will use this situation to bring you into the most wonderful, intimate relationship with Himself. And if you really believe that God is, and you have any concept at all how magnificent, powerful, & awesome He is simply because He is God, then you have to admit, that kind of fellowship with God is really a pretty fair outcome for whatever it is life is throwing your way.
To thank God for whatever you are facing often involves dying to self. It's hard to let go of our comfort zone and our idea of what life should be like and what "good" is. For example, cancer is not good. Being healthy and having energy and clarity of thought to do your work, make a good living for your family; being able to spend time with your family, quality time doing fun things together - these are good things. Cancer interferes with all that. But through having & being treated for cancer I learned nuances and depths to the lessons God had been teaching me I would not have learned otherwise. I moved into a deeper level of faith in God. I was challenged to apply the lessons I'd learned about the importance of knowing Him, about going on the way I got in, about Sabbath rest, about giving thanks for all things. And all of that is good. My choice would have been to feel strong and healthy and spend that summer working beside my wife doing yard work, and with my daughter doing portrait sessions, and to be working hard building my business, and generally living a "normal" life. It was frustrating. I could either get angry, or I could trust God for the grace to deal with the frustrations and thank Him for the whole experience and the truth that He was using it for His glory and my growth.
To not give thanks is to not faith that He is God - at least not in the area of your life for which you are refusing to thank Him. It's saying, "God, you are not powerful enough or loving enough to use this in my life. This is nothing more than a bad situation without any value, reason or purpose." Giving thanks for all things says: "God, I trust You that You are God, that You are faithful, and that You are using this for the highest purposes possible: 1. for You, to bring praise and glory to You for Your grace; 2. for me, to mold me into the image of Christ.
Faith is one of the key things we express and learn through giving thanks. But "faith" is not just blah spiritual principle. Faith is how we see and know and experience God. It's how we enter into and remain in relationship with Him - that intimate, loving, resting, joyful relationship I was talking about.
No comments:
Post a Comment