Give God Thanks

Following Jesus isn't easy, but it is an abundant life worth living.  Faith in God brings a fulfilling sense of purpose and hope nothing else in this perishing world can provide.  Though we have comfort, help, and rest in our God, at times we can be bombarded with bad news, devastated by circumstances, and be drowning in sorrow.  Over the last couple of days I have felt like I cannot cast my cares upon Jesus because they are casting me.  When the burdens are suffocating and we are too weak to move a muscle, praise the LORD He can lift us up for He stands by to save.

After prayer and reading Psalm 88 in the Bible (which was extremely relevant) this morning I flipped open Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges.  The passage in the book that I read was exactly what I needed to hear and be reminded of.  Allow me to share it with you:

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul writes, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  This command is different from the command in Ephesians 5:20, where we are to give thanks to God for everything.  I believe, considering the context, that in Ephesians Paul is exhorting us to develop a habit of continual thanksgiving for all the blessings God so graciously pours out on us; that is, one characteristic of a Spirit-filled life is a thankful heart.

 In the Thessalonians passage, however, Paul is instructing us to give thanks in all circumstances, even those we would not feel thankful about.  Is Paul asking us to give thanks through gritted teeth by sheer willpower when in our heart of hearts we are truly disappointed?  The answer to the questions lies in the promises of God found in Romans 8:28-29 and 38-39:  "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers...For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Verse 28 tells us that for those who love God, all things work together for good.  The meaning is that God causes all things to work together for good; for "things" - that is, circumstances - do not work together for good themselves.  Rather, God directs the outcome of those circumstances for our good.  The "good," however, is defined in verse 29 as our being conformed to the image of God's Son.  In other words, Paul is telling us that God intends all our circumstances, both good and bad (but in the context Paul has in mind, especially the bad ones), to be instruments of sanctification, of growing us more and more into the likeness of Jesus.

So in situations that do not turn out the way we hoped, we are to give God thanks that he will use the situation in some way to develop our Christian character.  We don't need to speculate as to how he might use it, for His ways are often mysterious and beyond our understanding.  So by faith in the promise of God in Romans 8:28-29, we obey the command of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in the circumstances.

Further, as we are in the midst of the difficult circumstance, we have the promise of Romans 8:38-39 that nothing, including the situation we are in, can separate us from the love of God.  Again we must cling to this promise by faith.  So we have a dual assurance to enable us to give thanks in the circumstance.  First, by faith we believe God is using or will use the particular difficulty to conform us more to Jesus.  Second, we have the assurance that even in the midst of the difficulty we are enveloped in God's love. (Bridges, Jerry. Respectable Sins. NavPress, Published in Alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2016. pages 81-82)

How blessed we are to have an almighty God who loves us beyond compare!  My love perishes with me, but the love of Jesus endures forever.  We might not always feel loved but we can know we are by the love demonstrated by Jesus when He willingly suffered and died on Calvary for sinners.  Who Jesus is and all He accomplished through His death and resurrection are eternal, and nothing that happens in our lives or even things we do cannot rob Him of victory.  Therefore, let us bless and thank our LORD Jesus Christ, for the God who gives also takes away - and gives good again in double measure.  Instead of being bitter through disappointment or angry with perceived injustice, let us in brokenness cry out to our Saviour who loves us and stands by us ready to save.