Thanksgiving. What's the big deal? With Halloween candy still spilling out of the cupboards, we quickly gloss over the one day per year we celebrate Thanksgiving to usher in Christmas. Perhaps we could do better marketing. Like Easter, Thanksgiving should be an every-day practice for a disciple of Jesus. It is a big deal. It's an expected part of a relationship. Substitute any word you like, be it gratitude, appreciation, cooperation, agreement, affection, praise, honor, glory, etc.
One of the foundational elements of our Christian walk is thanksgiving. When you struggle to focus on any examples to be thankful for, look no further than how much God loves you. He is your salvation. He is the Way for you to spend eternity in heaven. It's coming. Count on it.
Otherwise, we are fairly solid with being thankful when things go our way. When we are blessed, it flows naturally...sometimes. How many times have I forgotten to return to Jesus and thank Him for the answered prayer or that unexpected blessing or that evidence that He had gone ahead of me to fight through the obstacles? Last week, we were reminded of Jesus healing the ten lepers and only one of them returning to thank and praise Him. He seemed more disturbed about the hearts of the other guys that went their own way after being healed. He wants us to bring glory to Himself while on this earth. And guess what? That doesn't change when we get to heaven! We shouldn't think we can just live for our own glory on earth and then slide into heaven, all ready to flip the switch to bring Him glory. Not gonna happen. As a part of our discipleship, we have the responsibility to put this into practice every day. Live for His glory, not ours. I need more and more work in this area, myself. Don't think this is easy. But I'm actually thankful for the improved perspective He is developing through my life experiences. This life is from Him, through Him, and for Him. My best days involve me agreeing with this truth.
Now, we are somewhat okay with thanking Him for good times, but there is so much more power on the other side of the topic: thanking Him in tough times. This is not natural at all. You talk about not easy! This involves advanced faith and trust in God. It requires belief that He is in control and is purely good in nature. I was pointed to the Job story for teaching this side. "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" (Job 2:10) He realized everything was God's anyway. It was as if he treated his possessions and family as gifts from God, perhaps on loan to care for and love. There's power in realizing you don't take it with you when you die. It's just stuff, when it comes to material possessions. What about people you love and are close to? You have to trust God with their lives. We are not in control of anybody. I do like how Job prayed for his children regularly. He was a good example for them to follow.
"Give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thes. 5:18). All circumstances. Let's boldly apply our faith in God here. Let's trust Him through every circumstance. Let's represent His goodness as Firefighters for Christ. May we be that positive voice in a world full of bitterness, griping, and negativity. Think through the potential for influence in the fallen world we live in. May the world see the wisdom and hope of God in our testimonies about certain situations that come up. This is all for His glory.
