Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
©
by Debbie Guinn
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you.
~1 Thessalonians. 5:18 (KJV)
Every year around Thanksgiving, I find myself sitting with a group of friends or
family answering the question “What are you thankful for this year?” As we go
around the table or room, eyes well up with tears as loved ones thank God for
family, health, wealth, friends, or other blessings the Lord has given throughout
the year. There is something about that time of reflection and joint thanksgiving
that causes us to recall just how good our Father is toward us, His children.
I wonder, though, how our Father feels when we fail to thank Him for the tough
times…the seemingly bad things that happen in our lives. Oh, we may thank Him
for bringing us through those times. How often, though, do we thank Him for
those times, especially when we are still in the midst of them?
A common therapy for individuals suffering from depression is to make a daily list
of ten (or more) things for which they are thankful. Research has shown that
finding things for which one is thankful can heal their depression. Actually,
Solomon told us that several thousand years ago in Proverbs 17:22 where he
said, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
A thankful list might consist of things such as air, water, food, clothing, shelter,
ability to walk, ability to breathe, ability to eat, ability to move an arm or leg. They
might include children, spouse, and friends. Suffering from severe depression at
times in my life, I know how hard it can be to come up with even one thing at
times. As the depressed person progresses, they begin to find more and more
things for which they are thankful.
I wonder what would happen if we were to make a daily list of ten things for
which we are thankful, including five good things and five of the seemingly bad
things in our life…the areas where we don’t feel like giving thanks but choose to
anyway. My list from yesterday would look like this:
Now that I have written that list, I must ask myself “Am I truly thankful for
everything on that list?” Oh, I know I am thankful for the first five. What about the
last five? Yesterday proved to be a tough day for me. I have been going through
residual side effects from some medication that caused me to go into a deep
depression, combined with high levels of anxiety and irritability. This has been
unlike any depression I have had before in that there were no issues I could deal
with to resolve my depression. Even after speaking with my counselor, it was
clear that I simply had to wait it out, while the medication worked its way out of
my system. On top of that, I found out yesterday morning that a very dear friend
of mine, who has battled brain cancer for six and a half years, went to be with her
precious Jesus the night before.
God had put this article on my heart earlier in the week, before the effects of the
medication took over. As I struggled yesterday, I thought of the article
frequently…partly because of the pressure to get it written but also because the
Lord was speaking the very topic to my heart. His quiet whisper to me
throughout the day was “Are you going to thank me for everything I have allowed
in your life today?”
How do I—how do we—get to the place where we can thank God for the tough
stuff in life? How do we thank God for sickness and disease? How do we thank
God for taking a precious loved one from us? How do we thank God for lost jobs
and financial ruin? How do we thank God for wayward children?
I believe it comes from understanding just how much our Father loves us. We
must go back to the basics of realizing that He loved us so much that even when
we were filthy, wretched sinners He sent His only Son to die for us. (Romans
5:8, John 3:16) A God who loves you and me that much is not going to allow
anything in our lives that isn’t ultimately for our good. It may not seem good at the
time and often times won’t feel good. That is where trust comes into play. We
have to trust God’s love for us, rather than our feelings.
Jesus says in Matthew 10:28 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And
not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” He goes on
inverse 31 to say, “…you are of more value than many sparrows.” God loves
you; He cares deeply about you…about me. Everything He allows in our lives
comes out of His heart of love. I don’t understand that all the time. I just know
that He loves me…and He loves you too.
In what areas do you find it hard to give thanks? I challenge you to choose at
least one of those areas and begin thanking God for allowing that circumstance,
person, or situation in your life. Make this Thanksgiving the year that you learn
what it means to give thanks in everything.