Many of you will be familiar with the Canadian and American tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving. Historically, it was a time when families gathered to express gratitude to God for bringing them through the year, and for blessing them with a harvest that would see them through the hard winter months. Sadly, in the secular world it’s become more widely known as “turkey day”. But, what a special gift to have a national holiday where one day is officially dedicated to giving thanks. Yet isn’t this what we as believers, no matter which country we live in, are called to do on a daily basis – to have hearts filled with thanksgiving?
All of us have experienced at some time or another just how hard being human in a fallen world can be. Think about many of your recent conversations that centre around situations that are causing discomfort and distress. As we recount, or receive, the details of life’s difficulties, giving thanks isn’t usually our first response, is it? In fact, as we listen, often God is missing from the narrative altogether. Life can be unbelievably painful.
Life can be hard
I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few weeks, as I’ve faced some new and difficult challenges, about how having a heart of gratitude is inextricably linked to my trust in the character of our God. Who is God this week, in the news that my aging father-in-law was rushed to hospital, my daughter almost losing her life to undetected internal bleeding in a foreign country, my son-in-law being involved in a car accident, the death of an unsaved acquaintance, attending court with a believer caught in sin, and something as frustrating as our car blowing its engine, while we struggle through ongoing health issues? As the waves of the reality of living in a fallen world pound me, I am going to need a solid foundation in order not to be swept away by their ferocity. If I’m struggling to believe that God is gracious, kind, good, trustworthy, faithful, rich in mercy and abundant in His steadfast love, in each and every circumstance I encounter, then I am going to struggle to obey Paul’s exhortation to:
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Trust is a Choice
When circumstances tempt me to doubt, how do I trust that God is who He says He is, and that He is working all things together for my good, for the good of those I love, and for His eternal glory?
Jerry Bridges makes this statement:
“Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelms us.”
I cannot just wait until my circumstances seem to merit trusting God. I can’t hope that eventually I may feel thankful. Gratitude comes out of a heart that is making the conscious choice to trust that God is who He says He is, and that He is sovereignly orchestrating every minute detail of my life. It flows from resting in His unchangeable character as I lay my concerns at His feet.
Gratitude is a Sacrifice
Gratitude when life is going my way is so much easier. However, the choice to give thanks in the middle of life’s disappointments, heartaches and pain is truly the sacrifice of praise that glorifies our Father. It says, “I choose to trust that you are good, you are God, and I am not.” In Psalm 50 the Psalmist tells us that God isn’t impressed with outward, ritualistic offerings. He desires that in the day of trouble we will call out to Him and that we will offer “a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (14-15).
“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me” (v.23a)
As you encounter fresh trials, and listen with compassion to the accounts of the suffering that others are going through, how are you going to bring our loving heavenly Father back into the narrative? How are you going to point others to the immutable character of God and the promise of a glorious “yet to come” that should fill us with overwhelming gratitude, no matter what our circumstances? How are you vigorously choosing to trust and give thanks when everything in you wants answers and reassurances?
Let’s make a commitment to make gratitude our first response; one that comes from a heart that chooses to trust in the God who has not failed in one word of all His good promises.
Questions to ponder:
What is your natural first response when you encounter the harsh reality of living in a broken world?
Where do you find yourself struggling to give thanks? What situations cause you to doubt God’s goodness?
What do you think Jerry Bridges means when he says that trust is not a passive state of mind? How do you think this connects with gratitude?
How do you understand thanksgiving being a sacrifice that brings glory to God? Why do you think the Psalmist calls it a sacrifice?
As you listen to others’ stories, listen for what is missing. How can you gently bring God back into their story? How can you grow together in obeying 1 Thessalonians 5:18?