Terri's BlogChristian perspective on today's issues.

Thanksgiving is Thanks-Living

Have you given Thanks today?  (I know, Thanks is not supposed to be capitalized, but I claim the privilege because I’m the one writing this. 😁 As I have mentioned before, I start most days with prayer (and coffee), and I have a list of about 30 people, a couple of organizations, churches, missions, our country, and current situations (which is a very broad area).  I do not mention all every day, of course, and sometimes I go to the list to remember some or to put in new ones and update others.  But I ALWAYS, put THANKS in my prayers.  I begin praying by acknowledging God for who He is, what He does, has done, and is going to do.  Then I get into my THANKS, where I could spend all day and is fun to do.  Most of the time.  Sometimes the THANKS can be hard to say.
I get a monthly newsletter from author, teacher, preacher, and radio personality Steve Brown who brought up the subject of “painful thanksgiving” in this month’s letter.  In it he says, “One of the best times to give Thanks is when you’re in a bad spot”. And he uses Psalm 13 as an example.  (You should read it now; it’s a short chapter, only 6 verses.  I’ll wait…😊 The Psalmist wrote, “How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day?”  Steve says “The Psalmist hurts. He can’t sleep, he feels that God has left him alone, and he doesn’t like it one bit and tells God so.”   He continues…”It’s interesting to note that the Psalmist, after all his honesty and complaints, comes to the place where he recognizes how important it is to be thankful when he isn’t.”  Verses 5 &6 (still Psalm 13): “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”
A likely conclusion to this chapter is that even when things seem insurmountable, when we’re in our darkest moments, we can still give Thanks to God for who He is to us, what He does for us, has done for us, and is going to do for us. And that He is WITH us in all circumstances.  Because He loves us SO much, He gave His only Son so we could spend eternity with Him.   It is His gift to us.  Our gift to Him is what we do with it here and now.  And if we are truly Thankful for this gift, we should live our lives in gratitude EVERY DAY, even when it is difficult, and we really don’t feel like it.
Hebrews 12:4 (ESV) says, “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”  We do not have to; Christ shed His blood in our place.  We can never repay that debt – only it’s not a debt, it’s His gift.  All we must do is accept it. And we cannot Thank Him enough.
There’s a story about a soldier who, while in Vietnam, was in a battle along with several buddies when a hand grenade landed within their group. His best friend jumped on the grenade. The friend died, but the others were spared.  After getting back home the survivor looked up the widow and her three kids.  He told her how her hero had died, and that from gratitude, he would pay for the college education for all three kids, as well as help her whenever she needed help.   Paying college costs for three kids is very expensive. Thus, this survivor made many sacrifices for many years in order to save the money.  That is gratitude.  That is being grateful for his life.  Yet it’s only a fraction of what Jesus did for us, what God does for us during our lifetimes, and the reward of eternity.
I hear many people say “things happen for a reason”.  To me that sounds like looking for a Why something happened.  May I suggest putting that a different way? How about saying there’s a PURPOSE in some of the things that happen? Now our search for Why is instead asking what is the purpose of this? What do I do with this? What do I learn in order to better my faith?  How do I use this to teach others about faith? How can I use this to bring glory to God? And we need to ask these questions in every circumstance – the good ones as well as the tough ones.  It can take our eyes off of the situation from our perspective and make us look at the circumstances from God’s perspective.   And PRAY these questions so you can live out His purpose for it: become a better person, a better Christian, a better witness, and bring others into the family of God.
So, as Thanksgiving Day approaches, remember that as Christians we are to give Thanks every day, and LIVE our lives THANKFUL for the forgiveness of our sins and the joy of eternity set before us.
Starting your day saying Thanks will help you see Him in your life as the day goes along.  Give it a try.  It will make your problems smaller, your anger lessen, you will see love more often, and you will love more.  And I will predict that you will find yourself ending each day with another prayer of Thanks.   Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”     1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give Thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

As Steve Brown says:    He asked me to remind you.

In His service, and yours,
Mike Jared
TCM Board member