But I Thessalonians 5:18 says, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." How in the world can we give thanks in ALL circumstances? I can't give thanks when a child gets sick, or violence is happening in the world, or a loved one is unemployed! I can't give thanks for all the wrong and evil and misfortune in this world! So how can I give thanks in ALL circumstances?!?
Basing our thanks on whether or not something is what we want or we think is good at the time is very limiting and short sighted. One of my favorite stories about our limited nature of knowing what is ultimately beneficial for us is the ancient Eastern story below.
“Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically. “We’ll see,” the farmer replied.What should we consider a blessing? What do we call misfortune? An event that seems awful, like a horse running away, just might be blessing when it comes back with three more. That simple problem that led you to get the CAT scan may be the reason they caught that blood clot before it gave you a heart attack. Do we see the larger picture? How do we know what events will lead to positive or negative outcomes? Is what is going on in your life wonderful? Or awful? We’ll see.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed. “We’ll see,” replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. “We’ll see,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “We’ll see,” said the farmer.”
When we lose our health, we sure appreciate the little things we can do and we rejoice in what we used to take for granted. When we lose our material wealth, we learn that our security, our trust, our faith is not in money or possessions. When we fail or make a mistake, we learn from it, we grow, we change for the better. That which we might consider an unfortunate event, may just be a blessing. Maybe that’s why Thessalonians says to give thanks in all circumstances. Because you never know when a circumstance will become a blessing down the road.
How do you know what to be thankful for? Are we only thankful for that which makes us happy at the moment? For what we want here and now? For what answers our prayers momentarily? What about the big picture? Only God knows. Only God knows what is to be praised, what is to be lamented. Only God has the wisdom to see all things, all times, all circumstances. We see only one step at a time. Only God sees the big picture.
So when you are gathered around the Thanksgiving table tomorrow, some may have many obvious reasons to celebrate while others have many obvious reasons to lament. Cultivate an attitude and prayer life of thanksgiving. Giving thanks to a God that loves you unconditionally. Giving thanks to a God who gave his only Son that we might have abundant life. Giving thanks to a God who is always with us granting us undeserved forgiveness, grace, and mercy. Giving thanks to a God whose will is "peace on earth" and asks us to be involved in making it so. Giving thanks is not dependent on our circumstances. Thanks giving is dependent upon a loving, faithful, eternal God that desperately desires to be in an intimate relationship with us. And that's something to give thanks for no matter what we are going through. Happy Thanksgiving!
