In Everything Give Thanks

The start of a new year is an exciting time of looking gladly towards the future.  Perhaps of all the years of my life I have never seen a "year" cop more hate than 2020.  I have seen countless memes and references of 2020 that paint those 365 days in a negative light.  I am reminded of a song I sang often growing up taken from Psalm 118:24:  "This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  If we acknowledge each day we are given on earth is a gift received from our good God, how can we say 365 of them in a row are bad?  2020 was an awesome year because we have an awesome God, and should we live to see one day in 2021 we have been granted a blessing beyond what we deserve.

What I love about the song taken from Psalm 118 is the context of the Messiah God would send who would suffer and die for sinners.  Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.  Jesus rejoiced, not in the brutality of His tormentors, but in the salvation God would provide through it.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  It is God's will we would rejoice always, even when we are having a tough day or difficult year.  Verse 18 says, "in everything give thanks."  In every situation, in every season of life, in everything it is most appropriate to give thanks because God remains glorious and good.  Faith in God makes this possible.

It may be a person could be moved to give thanks for COVID or being out of a job, yet giving thanks in everything is a way to walk by faith in God today.  When it hurts, when we cannot make sense of the world, when we feel oppressed, confused and crushed, in everything we give thanks because God remains for us and nothing can separate us from His love.  Because God is infinite in goodness and glory there are innumerable things to give thanks for continuously.  A day ticking over on the calendar is not going to fix our problems or change the world for good:  this is a false hope, fleeting romanticism, and misguided folly.  Each day and each year can be better and better as we grow in faith of our sovereign God who is good, despite our bodies breaking down with tribulations all around.  May God open our eyes to see Him and our mouths to praise Him for His goodness to us regardless of the trials we face.

When Jesus went knowing He would be crucified, He rejoiced and was glad in the day the LORD had made:  a day of salvation, redemption, a day to set captives free from sin and save souls forever.  In everything He gave thanks because this was the will of God for Him and us.  This is not the "power of positive thinking" but the walk of faith by God's grace as we embrace His peace that passes understanding.  We can choose to turn to Jesus today and in everything give thanks.  If we will do this, what a year 2021 will be!

The Limits of Accountability

A word I hear concerning the benefits of Christian fellowship is "accountability."  It seems to be part of being a disciple of Jesus to be held or "hold others accountable."  This can be little more than keeping tabs on someone else, to watch over their shoulder to confirm they are doing the right things or avoiding sin.  The more I think about this concept of what passes as a need for serious discipleship from a biblical vantage point, I wonder if we can actually stand in the way of spiritual growth and maturity.  With a desire to be accepted by others we can seek the favour of an accountability partner rather than seeking God and relying upon His strength to overcome sinful desires of the flesh.  Accountability without the governance of God's love has the potential to become prescriptive, controlling and suggests to find favour with God people must labour to please man.

The Bible does speak about giving an account of ourselves, and the context typically concerns a person giving an account before God in judgment.  Jesus said in Matthew 12:36-37, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."   Paul wrote in Romans 14:12, "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."  A day will come when we must give account of our words and deeds before the living God who will judge the living and the dead.  Since we will need to do so in the future, confessing our sins to one another and praying for one another is a fitting reminder and practice to prepare for that day (James 5:16).  Those who are not born again will face a judgment of condemnation, while believers will give an account of their stewardship and receive rewards or suffer loss.

I have had people over the years ask for me to hold them accountable for a particular struggle they faced, to agree to be a person with whom they could contact to confess sin.  I have been asked to inquire at random intervals with "how someone is doing" concerning an issue they previously discussed.  This is a good thing when important boundaries are established and maintained:  sin is between a man and God before whom he will give an account, and only God is able to forgive and cleanse from sin.  As we bear one another's burdens everyone is to carry their own load, and no effort of the flesh can do the work of the Holy Spirit.  Because sin is between a person and God, in one sense it is impossible for a person to keep anyone accountable because we only know what we are told or see ourselves.  It is God's sovereign role to punish sinners, discipline saints and reward those made righteous by faith--not because they avoided sin or complied with the directives of men.

How important it is to pursue the living God and remain close to Him in faith and obedience!  This is how by God's grace a healthy, growing relationship with Him is found.  It would be a strange thing for a husband to confess to his friend he had been unfaithful to his wife without confessing to her first since he sinned against her by his infidelity.  In a similar way, if we have sinned before God it is important we go to Him first, that there is no one we report to in place of Him or look for support or encouragement besides Him.  Isn't He the One who has called us to walk righteously, given us His word, an example to follow in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit who fills us, convicts us of sin and the God before whom we will ultimately give account?  Accountability before men is no substitute for fellowship with God.  Giving an account before men has merits, but never allow a person to stand in God's place where favour is received by compliance and disobedience avoided by fear of shame. 

Remembering God

"When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."

Deuteronomy 24:19

God is able to use forgetfulness or being absentminded as an opportunity for blessing.  God knows that we who remember also have the capacity (and even tendency!) to forget.  If a farmer forgot a sheaf of grain in the field, he was not to go retrieve it:  that would provide food for the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.  I wonder if this happened to farmers as often as I forget a pot on the stove that needs cleaning when washing dishes!  The sink being empty of dishes, I often remove the drain plug only to see another pot or dish to wash I had forgotten about.

A forgetful farmer was to be always mindful of the God who commanded him to leave the forgotten sheaf in the field.  He was to remember the promise of God's blessing upon all the work of his hands should he trust and obey.  It is an amazingly good exchange, to leave a sheaf in the field that will benefit others to receive the enduring blessing of God upon all the works of your hands--forgetful though you might be.  I wonder if people intentionally "forgot" a sheaf in the field, left extra olives on the trees or grapes on the vines so they could be partakers of blessings of God for their liberality to others in need.

There is a beautiful balance here of God's provision for the needy and their need to work for a living.  Ruth did not wait for barley to be shoveled into her bag at home but braved the heat of the day to glean in the field of Boaz.  Olives that remained were high in the trees and needed to be brined before eating; the grain in a forgotten sheaf still needed to be threshed, winnowed and ground into flour, roasted or sprouted.  God is good to provide for the rich and poor alike through many means, and it is a blessing to be able to work, eat and enjoy the profits of our labours.  All our increase is a gracious gift from God, and those who are generous and mindful of God's blessings are even more blessed.  There is even a blessing in forgetting when we remember our great God.

Rest in God's Grace

Zerubbabel was a Jewish governor of Judea who came out of the Babylonian captivity and was used by God to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  Haggai and Zechariah were prophets and contemporaries of Zerubbabel who encouraged him in the work.  Great difficulties and obstacles were prevalent:  the busyness of the people in their own affairs, opposition of enemies, and even satanic attacks.  Zerubbabel had a massive task before him that loomed like an impassable mountain.  The foundation had been laid, but how would the work be completed?

In the face of great discouragement and his own inability to do the work, an angelic messenger said in Zechariah 4:6-9:  "So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. ⁷ 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" ⁸ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ⁹ "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you."  By the grace of God the immense job would be accomplished Zerubabbel could not finish by the might of Persia or the power of combined effort.  The Holy Spirit would turn mountains into a plain easily navigated.  God would see the capstone of the temple laid, and in that day it would confirm the truth of what the angel spoke.  God used Zerubbabel to complete this monumental task by His grace.

As we move into a new year there is always the temptation to lament past failures than rejoice in new beginnings.  It would be safe to say this year did not go according to the "plans" many had:  trips and holidays were cancelled as a pandemic swept across the globe, weddings and gatherings were impacted, the economy and jobs were negatively affected and social distancing restrictions imposed upon freedoms we took for granted.  In light of what has happened and all the work that still needs to be done, we might imagine our efforts to accomplish God's work is a waste of time.  On the contrary!  When God is doing the work by the power of the Holy Spirit, His grace is sufficient for all seasons.  Before God what appears to be insurmountable opposition is laid low when His people trust and obey Him.

Explorers have devised ways to conquer the highest peaks on the globe, yet only the Holy Spirit is able to make a mountain a plain by His grace.  Heavy equipment and dynamite have removed great swaths of stone and soil, but we cannot by hard labour be born again, forgiven from sins, or go to haven by our efforts:  it is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus this impossible transformation is done.  Paul wrote to believers in Philippians 1:3-7:  "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷  just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace."  Through faith in Jesus Christ we are blessed with the Holy Spirit by God's grace beginning to end.  Like Zerubbabel, may we be His faithful servants who rest in God's grace.