Thankgiving

What should be different about a Christian than other people without a hope in Christ’s promises? I’m sure we could list many attributes that set us apart from the world, but at least during this time of year one characteristic should come to our minds–Gratitude. At the heart of what many celebrate this week is gratitude for family, friends, material blessings, freedom, and of course spiritual blessings. All of these things we realize have shaped our life and made us what we know we need to be and hopefully want to be.

I’m reminded of a passage that may not seem like a Thanksgiving Day sort of passage, but it addresses the great insight into a grateful-hearted person. In Hebrews 12:12-13, “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

People have been placed in our lives that have given us the opportunity to praise God, but Satan tries to convince us not to see the blessings in our circumstances–good or bad. But it’s easy to ask, “Where’s a blessing in what I’m going through?” Perhaps like Job, or Daniel, or Joseph, or Jesus. We see them and many others who endured awful things and yet there was something about their situation that still brought God glory.

What about your story? Have people been more compelled to express their gratitude in their life by watching yours? How was Paul able to say in Romans 8:37-39, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘for Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Perhaps his appreciation for God was best seen through the trials of his life. The difficulties that led him to a point in his life where he could reflect on the presence of God all along. How about us? Can we recognize how God has worked through the situations, good or bad, in our life that should lend themselves to our attitude of thanks?

Every challenge, every discipline, every loss may define some of the moments where we modeled the strongest faith. Consider why God disciplines us. It was through those events that brought Israel to their knees and made them grateful that their God was always there. Because it’s in the difficult times that we feel we need God more. We feel more helpless, weaker, and simply scared, yet God enjoys demonstrating His love and power towards us.

Discipline prepares us to wait for Him. Without it, we tend to take the “easy way” out that actually leads to more pain, suffering, or disappointment. This Thanksgiving, thank God for the challenging things that have contributed to your faith.