Thanks…

Today’s topic the bible study focused on thankfulness… not always the easiest topic!

We were sent to read 1 Thessalonians 4:18 – Thank God in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

Notice that it doesn’t say that we need to be thankful for these circumstance, rather that we are to be thankful in the midst of them. I have personally found, though, that I am often very thankful for them as well – once they are in the past.

There is nothing that happens to us that God has not allowed in our lives. He allows these things to teach us, to draw us unto Himself, or to reach out to those around us by how we react in the midst of them. That is an important thing to remember – the world is watching us, and they are taking mental notes of how we deal with this crazy roller coaster called life. Life sends us on ups and downs – complete with some hairpin turns – but God promises us that He will always be there beside us through it all.

There are so many times in my life that God has shown His eternal faithfulness – I could fill many pages just with those stories – and while I don’t want to have to live through them again, I am thankful that I had to – those trials and times of testing have changed me on a level that runs very deep. There are aspects of who I am that would not be that way without those trials, there is a strength in my faith that would be lacking had I not been through these trials. I can now say that I KNOW that God will provide, that God will be faithful, and that He will be right there beside me, because He has proven it time and time again. And He will be there for you too, I am assured of this.

We also read Hebrews 13:15-16
Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. Do not forget or neglect to do kindness and good, to be generous and distribute and contribute to the needy [of the church as embodiment and proof of fellowship], for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

These verses go back to the three-fold aspect of worship – upward, inward and outward. We need to constantly offer our praise to God – even when it takes a sacrifice on our part (and we all know that there are days that we just don’t feel like praising Him!) Even when we are in the midst of the toughest time our lives have ever seen, we need to praise Him.

My dad was killed in a plane crash on the day my youngest daughter was born. Talk about a challenge! On top of this, my husband had been out of work for 5 months (almost to the day) at this point, with no prospects, no interviews, and no clue when he would be able to work again. At three days old, my daughter was packed up and too her first plane ride – two actually – as we flew home for my dad’s funeral. The funeral was held on my Grandma’s birthday – yes, his mom.

This is just a snippet of everything that happened during this year – just one week – but during this week (and the 5 months prior to it) God showed us His faithfulness. We couldn’t have afforded plane tickets – we hadn’t had income for 5 months, remember? – but we were able to use my dad’s SkyMiles to get tickets for Eric & I to fly home and back. We missed the first flight out, which gave us some time to spend in quiet with my mom at the airport (she had flown up for the birth) before we had to face everyone and process through everything. then we were greeted by every member of my family that lived there at the airport. Yes, I automatically looked for my Daddy’s face, but it wasn’t there. It would never be there again. My daughters will never have their Grandpa there to teach them all of the things that I had counted on him teaching them. But, I know that God will work everything out for good – and He has! There were over 700 people at that funeral – people whose lives my Dad had effected. People who claimed that it was his living testimony that gave them a glimpse of Jesus. People who through experiencing his death and how our family dealt with it were changed.

That was almost 7 years ago, and there are still days that I want to call my Dad to ask him some little thing, but I can’t. Yes, I still miss him terribly – and I always will – but I know that he is in a better place! He is getting to worship God directly at the foot of His throne!

God used this time of personal trial in so many lives, and so much good has come out of this.  I cannot look back with bitterness, because while it came with a healthy dose of heartache, it also came with an amazing amount of blessing!

During that year we buried 5 people who were very close to us. My 1.5 year old daughter had what we called her “funeral dress” because she wore it to them so often. Eric’s Grandpa also passed away during this time – about 3.5 months before my Dad. Because Eric was out of work, he was able to be there with his Grandpa when he died – to watch him take his last breath. To be there for his Mom and Sisters, his Grandma and her sisters – to take a week or more to spend down at his Grandpa’s bedside. To be able to be there to comfort them, to encourage them, and to just spend time.

Was this a hard trial? You have no idea. But God once again proved to us His faithfulness and love. Every time we ran out of money to pay our rent, something came through. Yes, we were on WIC and the State of Washington paid for our daughter to be born (Praise God!) but even so, making ends meet was tough. We pulled in, spent time together, spent time with God, and were beyond blessed by our church family. We even ended up living with another family for the last month before Eric finally got a job – in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home! We were blessed by the compassion showed by those around us, by the relationships that God had built up around us, and by His people living out their worship by ministering to us.

I could tell more, but I think I will save those stories for another day.

The point of my sharing this is simple – we need to praise God no matter our circumstances. The loss of a parent – praise God, the loss of a child – praise God! The loss of a job – praise God, the loss of a house – praise God! No matter what He brings into your life, He will be right there beside you to see you through it. He will provide.  And He will use it to further His kingdom.

Now, take it a step beyond simply praising Him in the midst – the Bible calls us to be thankful for them! I think I can truly say that I am thankful for each trial that He has brought me through. I am thankful for the woman that He is grooming me to be. I am thankful for the relationships that He showed me through them, and I am thankful for the testimony that has been created by them.

The study also reminded of the old song “Count Your Blessings”

“Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done,
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings see what God has done.”

The simple act of writing out the blessings that God has poured into your life can be a humbling experience – I know it is for me. I encourage you to sit and make a list of the blessings that God had sent your way – and keep in mind that many times those blessing are disguised as heartache.

The most humbling blessing – yet the most awesome one too – is that God sent His only Sun Jesus to earth to die a horrible, humiliating, painful death for me… for you… for every person He ever created.

I’m not sure that i would be able to make that same sacrifice! That I would be willing to exchange the life of one of my children for someone else. If anything, I would be more apt to offer my own life to spare theirs. But that’s just what God did – He willingly offered His Son in exchange for all humanity. In exchange for people who turn their backs on Him, who spat in His face, who curse His name on a daily basis. For people who don’t even care.

Make sure that the Blessing of Jesus is at the top of that list.

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