Thanksgiving is such a warm, nostalgic holiday for me, just in terms of its laid-back atmosphere and its proximity to the end-of-the-year season. Specific moments are somewhat vague -- I can remember lying on my belly drawing cartoons out in our sun porch (the toy room), and another year putting together a cardboard, punch-out farm set that my grandmother got me -- but my appreciation for the holiday is a messy bundle of pleasant, quantitative recollections of rest and family time.
That said, I know I'm not the only one who can use the holiday like a checkpoint -- a momentary pause to say thanks for my blessings and fill up my gratitude tank before heading back into my normal, humdrum way of living. It's easy on Thanksgiving to be thankful, because it's easy to be happy when thing are comfortable. But normal life (and sometimes holidays too) isn't always (ever?) comfortable. Outlined below are three questions that I need to be asking myself regularly, none of which will rock anyone back on their mental heels in revelation. However, learning to be content isn't just about accruing new practical ways to don a brave face when things are ugly. For Christians, it's about learning deeper appreciation for the reality that has always been in front of us.
That said, I know I'm not the only one who can use the holiday like a checkpoint -- a momentary pause to say thanks for my blessings and fill up my gratitude tank before heading back into my normal, humdrum way of living. It's easy on Thanksgiving to be thankful, because it's easy to be happy when thing are comfortable. But normal life (and sometimes holidays too) isn't always (ever?) comfortable. Outlined below are three questions that I need to be asking myself regularly, none of which will rock anyone back on their mental heels in revelation. However, learning to be content isn't just about accruing new practical ways to don a brave face when things are ugly. For Christians, it's about learning deeper appreciation for the reality that has always been in front of us.
How an I practicing "24/7/365 gratitude," not just "Thanksgiving gratitude?"
I heard the story of an elderly preacher who, after years of faithful ministry, suddenly began preaching the same sermon to his congregation week after week. At first, the people were polite and said nothing, but they all wondered if their minister was starting to show his age. Finally, as weeks turned into months, they began to grow concerned for his mental health, and one of the trustees was nominated to approach the pastor and inquire whether or not he thought it might be time to retire.
"...because you do realize," the spokesperson said nervously, "that you've been preaching the exact same sermon each Sunday for six weeks now, right?"
Calmly, the pastor replied, "Tom, I'll move on to another topic as soon as this one actually sinks in."
Personally, I don't need the reminder to be thankful every time Thanksgiving rolls around. I need it every day.
According to the Apostle Paul, joy and gratefulness should be among the chief, distinguishing qualities of Christ-followers (Phil 4.4). To be anything but grateful in the face of what we have been given is to be both self-centered and incredibly short-sighted. We all know how easy it is to set aside just one day of the year to take a deep breath and re-evaluate the silver lining. We also know that it's much harder to maintain that spirit of peace and thankfulness on a daily basis -- largely because we have a penchant for always expecting things to go our way. We read, "All things work together for good for those who love Him" in Romans 8.28 and conveniently ignore the fact that the biblical idea of "good" is tied to our spiritual growth, not to our personal comfort. And in the midst of such skewed thinking, our spirits become jaded to the lessons God might be trying to teach us and we sink to begrudging the hours rather than redeeming them.
But maybe it's not just our attitude that needs to be examined.
Maybe it's our view of the Almighty.
Faith and trust are key elements in maintaining daily thankfulness for God's provision. But they aren't just attitude words. They're belief words. Together, the joint exercise of faith and trust logically expresses the reality that I don't possess all the knowledge, and that there are things completely outside of my realm of control. In that regard, maybe my struggle with gratitude is not because my faith in God is weak, but because my conception of God is. Do I really esteem Him to be good? Faithful? Omnipotent? Or have I stunted my understanding of Him by inflating my own abilities, esteem, and expectations? Forgive the not-so-latent Calvinistic flavor, but either God is sovereign or He is impotent. Any in-between is a contradiction in terms. And frankly, a God who is not in control is not much of a God at all -- certainly not one to place my faith and trust in. Certainly not one to whom thanks and praise are due.
No wonder our faith is so small if we have such small views of who God truly is and what He can do!
Here's what I know. The same God Almighty who expends sufficient mercy and grace to all sinners also gives the necessary resources that His children need for life and joy and worship (Matt 4.4; Luke 11.13; Jas 1.17). He is good and He is big and He is holy and He is trustworthy. As Christians, we can rest in His sovereignty even when circumstances are poor, because our faith is placed in what is truly "for good" -- not in the stunted, shortsighted promises of American consumerist spirituality, but in the aim of holiness that our Savior has sovereignly purposed for all of His children, and in the hope of eternity spent with Him.
"...because you do realize," the spokesperson said nervously, "that you've been preaching the exact same sermon each Sunday for six weeks now, right?"
Calmly, the pastor replied, "Tom, I'll move on to another topic as soon as this one actually sinks in."
Personally, I don't need the reminder to be thankful every time Thanksgiving rolls around. I need it every day.
According to the Apostle Paul, joy and gratefulness should be among the chief, distinguishing qualities of Christ-followers (Phil 4.4). To be anything but grateful in the face of what we have been given is to be both self-centered and incredibly short-sighted. We all know how easy it is to set aside just one day of the year to take a deep breath and re-evaluate the silver lining. We also know that it's much harder to maintain that spirit of peace and thankfulness on a daily basis -- largely because we have a penchant for always expecting things to go our way. We read, "All things work together for good for those who love Him" in Romans 8.28 and conveniently ignore the fact that the biblical idea of "good" is tied to our spiritual growth, not to our personal comfort. And in the midst of such skewed thinking, our spirits become jaded to the lessons God might be trying to teach us and we sink to begrudging the hours rather than redeeming them.
But maybe it's not just our attitude that needs to be examined.
Maybe it's our view of the Almighty.
Faith and trust are key elements in maintaining daily thankfulness for God's provision. But they aren't just attitude words. They're belief words. Together, the joint exercise of faith and trust logically expresses the reality that I don't possess all the knowledge, and that there are things completely outside of my realm of control. In that regard, maybe my struggle with gratitude is not because my faith in God is weak, but because my conception of God is. Do I really esteem Him to be good? Faithful? Omnipotent? Or have I stunted my understanding of Him by inflating my own abilities, esteem, and expectations? Forgive the not-so-latent Calvinistic flavor, but either God is sovereign or He is impotent. Any in-between is a contradiction in terms. And frankly, a God who is not in control is not much of a God at all -- certainly not one to place my faith and trust in. Certainly not one to whom thanks and praise are due.
No wonder our faith is so small if we have such small views of who God truly is and what He can do!
Here's what I know. The same God Almighty who expends sufficient mercy and grace to all sinners also gives the necessary resources that His children need for life and joy and worship (Matt 4.4; Luke 11.13; Jas 1.17). He is good and He is big and He is holy and He is trustworthy. As Christians, we can rest in His sovereignty even when circumstances are poor, because our faith is placed in what is truly "for good" -- not in the stunted, shortsighted promises of American consumerist spirituality, but in the aim of holiness that our Savior has sovereignly purposed for all of His children, and in the hope of eternity spent with Him.
How am I giving thanks for the little things?
Prayer, in general, is crucial. Without a prayer life, I'll find it impossible to be truly grateful for anything. Specifically, praying before a meal might seem like just a mundane habit -- more like family tradition or a teaching tool for children than a genuine expression of gratitude. However, maintaining this kind of practice is a small way to live in constant dependence upon God. Having this kind of discipline is an indicator that I don't just run to Him in a panic when the sky is falling, but have intentionally disciplined myself to be prayerful. When relationships fail and work is a mess and my life seems to be in shambles, there are still fragments of goodness and hope to be found in commonplace things that altogether point to the bedrock fact that God is still working. However, if I haven't learned beforehand that there is nothing I've been given for which I shouldn't be deeply thankful, I'll find it difficult to find anything meaningful in the rubble.
Conversely, what I'm quick to complain about (i.e. NOT pray about) also shines a spotlight in the direction of my values. It's so easy to sink into irritation and downright bitterness rather than wait for the grain of sand to become a pearl. However, if I train myself to express gratitude when things are good, by pausing to be thankful for the proverbial "little things," I can preemptively form a habit that's hard to dislocate. If I teach myself not to take even the most mundane things for granted, suddenly those are the things on the tip of my tongue when I'm hard-pressed to find reasons to be thankful in difficulty. Giving thanks regularly for the dispensable things makes giving thanks at all that much easier when things become difficult.
This kind of thinking involves a large measure of training and self-discipline. It's not our natural inclination to express gratitude, not when things are difficult, and especially not when we live in the middle of a generation that feels entitled to only the best. I must work at expressing gratitude by engaging when I don't particularly sense a need to, so that in the future -- when the world is collapsing in around me -- I can more naturally turn to my default response.
Praying before meals, for meals, is a tiny way to do that.
How does my gratitude (or lack thereof) reflect my response to the gospel?
My perpetual emotional/spiritual state should be one of deep-seated peace and joy in what Jesus Christ has done for me. My response to poor circumstances indicates just how deeply the message of redemption has sunk into my heart. Am I quick to complain and find it impossible to see past the sickness, the loss, the circumstance? Well, maybe I don't truly understand the gospel.
No matter how unbearable life becomes, no matter how badly we screw up our own plans, no matter how poorly other people treat us... as Christians we rest in the confidence of knowing that our salvation is both unmerited (on our part) and unshakeable. I didn't earn it, and so I can't lose it. I was a wretch to whom God showed unfathomable mercy, and now I can rest my hope in eternity and be deeply, truly thankful -- even when the present is a frighteningly miserable experience.
The reality of what we've been saved from and saved to is cause for incredible joy and thankfulness. No more am I a lost and broken enemy of God, earning wages upon wages of destruction and judgment for my lifetime of sinful investments. Now I am a favored child -- a rescued and redeemed saint, a member of the priesthood of all believers, part of God's ransomed family, covered by the blood of Jesus. The righteousness that His perfection attributes to me is a permanent state, and nothing can take that away.
With that perspective in place, it is far easier to be grateful for the little things, the big things, the good things, and even the bad things. We can be motivated to express our deep gratitude for salvation and demonstrate attitudes of joy and contentment even when everyone around us is opting to complain and despair. It's no wonder countless ministers of the Word have historically encouraged Christians to preach the gospel daily -- to ourselves! It is by reaffirming what the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ has accomplished that the problems of life, the universe, and everything shrink in stark, almost embarrassing contrast.
Nothing can touch what God has done. Nothing compares to the blessing of my sin -- not in part, but the whole! -- being nailed to the cross so that I may bear it no more.
This Thanksgiving, let's pause as always to reflect and refresh. But let's also strive to carry that spirit into the day after. And the day after that.
No matter how unbearable life becomes, no matter how badly we screw up our own plans, no matter how poorly other people treat us... as Christians we rest in the confidence of knowing that our salvation is both unmerited (on our part) and unshakeable. I didn't earn it, and so I can't lose it. I was a wretch to whom God showed unfathomable mercy, and now I can rest my hope in eternity and be deeply, truly thankful -- even when the present is a frighteningly miserable experience.
The reality of what we've been saved from and saved to is cause for incredible joy and thankfulness. No more am I a lost and broken enemy of God, earning wages upon wages of destruction and judgment for my lifetime of sinful investments. Now I am a favored child -- a rescued and redeemed saint, a member of the priesthood of all believers, part of God's ransomed family, covered by the blood of Jesus. The righteousness that His perfection attributes to me is a permanent state, and nothing can take that away.
With that perspective in place, it is far easier to be grateful for the little things, the big things, the good things, and even the bad things. We can be motivated to express our deep gratitude for salvation and demonstrate attitudes of joy and contentment even when everyone around us is opting to complain and despair. It's no wonder countless ministers of the Word have historically encouraged Christians to preach the gospel daily -- to ourselves! It is by reaffirming what the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ has accomplished that the problems of life, the universe, and everything shrink in stark, almost embarrassing contrast.
Nothing can touch what God has done. Nothing compares to the blessing of my sin -- not in part, but the whole! -- being nailed to the cross so that I may bear it no more.
This Thanksgiving, let's pause as always to reflect and refresh. But let's also strive to carry that spirit into the day after. And the day after that.
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