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Thankfulness

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by Brian Waple 

“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us—and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.”—Thomas Merton

“We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.”—C. S. Lewis

As I listened to the various statements of thankfulness expressed this past Sunday, I found myself asking “What am I thankful for?” Am I thankful for my family, a job, my church, good health, a home? Of course I am. But on a deeper level, where have I been “grateful to recognize the love of God in everything,” or where have I been giving thanks even for bad fortune, “because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country”?

To be honest, I am barely thankful for the good things that happen, let alone the bad. When faced with challenging situations, it’s as though I have these blinders on that keep me focused on the problem at hand, rather than opening my field of vision to recognize where God might be working. With my lips I say, “God is in control,” but in my soul I’m saying, “God has let me down.” My heartfelt desire is to fully embrace the certainty that the love of God is in everything He gives me (good and bad), and to do that I have to ask myself questions such as “Where can I be thankful in this situation?” and “Where might God be using me in this situation?” And when I ask those questions, I am gently reminded to remove the blinders, surrender the situation to God, and take time to discern where and how He is working. And when I do that, I can see that in His gracious and loving mercy He is using the situation to create a redemptive work in me. And that is something I can be thankful for.

I want to express my sincere appreciation to all who spoke on Sunday. Your transparency and willingness to acknowledge your assurance in how God is working was truly a blessing. You are examples of what being thankful is all about. And for all of us, especially as we approach the Advent season, my prayer is that we would take time to reflect on what it is we are truly thankful for.

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Taking Time

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by Brian Waple

 For our 40th wedding anniversary, Cindy and I had the opportunity to take a cruise to Hawaii. Prior to arriving in Hawaii, we spent five days crossing the Pacific Ocean. During our crossing, I had a lot of time to think about God, the immense complexity of His creation, and how this affects my response to Him. The following are three reflections I wrote during those days on the water:

“I was reading a devotion by Henri Nouwen this morning in which he spoke of how all created things point to God. Waking up this first morning and seeing the waves, feeling the tossing of our ship, made me think of the disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee when the storm came up and tossed their little fishing boat around. Just like the disciples, seeing the waves creates a sense of helplessness and loss of control, and it reminds me how very small I am and how very little control I have in this very big world. Being able to see and feel the force of the water and understanding that God created the natural forces that cause these unrelenting waves makes me appreciate and respect God’s creation that much more.

“But, looking up and seeing the sunshine and blue sky and white clouds (which God also created) represents (in my mind) a peace (God’s peace) and calm to the contrast of the turmoil going on in the water below. The Pacific Ocean is vast, but it is only one of several oceans, and the sky above surrounds them all. The lesson for me in this situation is there is and will be unrelenting turmoil in this world and no degree of real control is vested in me, but I have assurance that God is in control, and like the sky above these raging waters, His peace surrounds and keeps me.

“It dawned on me this morning as we’re traveling to Maui that we are actually sailing through the Hawaiian Islands. I woke up and looked out our window and saw an island, which I assumed was where we were going. Cindy corrected me by saying that is just a smaller island that we are passing … Maui is still out in front of us. Sure enough, I went out on the veranda and there was Maui, looming in the near distance. But the smaller island, as well as another small island to the northwest, reminded me that we are threading our way through the Hawaiian island chain. And seeing these islands creates in me a sense of awe and reverence and, strangely enough, thankfulness that I’m able to witness this. I’m reminded of the presentation we saw of how this chain was created … how these volcanic islands rose up from the ocean floor many, many years ago. Thinking back to the first two chapters of Genesis reminds me that these islands were all created as part of God’s grand design for this planet. It also reminds me of the whole idea of the journey and the many blessings along the way being more important than the destination.”

It was on this cruise I realized it’s when I take a break from the routine, normal, predictable life and allow myself the luxury of simply resting in God’s presence that I’m privileged to see a glimpse of God’s ethereal majesty and beauty, which is all we get this side of heaven. I was also reminded to be thankful for the small blessings that come my way along the journey.

In what ways do you rest in His presence? How do you experience God’s majesty and beauty? And are you taking time to be thankful?

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Marvel

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by Brian Waple

Last week I had the opportunity to drive across the country with an old friend. We were transporting some family heirlooms from my stepmother’s house in Virginia to Puyallup. It was 2,755 miles … 14 states … 5 days. I kept a log every day, and some of my entries are as follows:

Stopped in Danville, Illinois for the night … sat in the parking lot that evening and watched a lightning storm as it completely filled the sky.

Driving through the state of Iowa, I saw hundreds of cornfields covering wide rolling hills.

In South Dakota, we took some group selfies with Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln at Mt. Rushmore.

Passed several herds of pronghorn antelope and even saw Devil’s Tower in the distance before entering Wyoming.

Passing through Butte, Montana, we saw Our Lady of the Rockies, a 90-foot concrete statue of the Virgin Mary, nestled high up in the mountains atop the Continental Divide and dedicated by the people of Butte to women everywhere, especially mothers.

Crossed into Idaho and marveled at the expanse of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

It was as though a whole new world opened up for me and I was captivated by the sights, many of which I’ve never seen before.

It’s interesting that we are filled with wonder and awe at all the new things we see, but what about the things we see every day and take for granted, or don’t even take time to think about? Sure, we can sculpt heads out of a mountainside, but who created the internal forces that gave birth to those mountains? We can plant and harvest hundreds of acres of corn, but who created and orchestrates nature so that those corn seeds can take root and grow? We can stand in amazement at lightning filling an evening sky, but who created the vast sky in the first place for that light show to perform?

In the Bible we read: “In the beginning, God ….” Everything that follows those four words is truly a marvel. This trip made me think about how I view God and how I view the majesty of His creation. It made me question whether I take time to actually notice and be thankful, especially in this beautiful area of the country in which we live. I know that I don’t always appreciate God’s hand in what I see, and I should.

What about you? What have you seen recently in His creation that caused you to notice and give thanks? Perhaps we could take a few moments daily to give Him thanks for the beauty that surrounds us.

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Manage the Family. Well …

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by Brian Waple

When our kids were growing up, we took very seriously our responsibility for raising them well (as good Christian parents should). We made sure they attended church every week; tried our best to get them into Sunday school as often as we could; said grace together before most meals; incorporated family prayer times; scrutinized the music, television, and videos they were exposed to; got them involved in Christian activities and events; bought all the Adventures in Odyssey tapes; read all the recommended “Raising a Christian Family” books; and tried our best to model what we thought was appropriate and biblical Christian behavior. So, you can imagine our surprise (and our sense of failure/grief) when, as young adults and able to make their own choices, they both walked away from the church. What did we do wrong?

Brian spoke about our responsibility as parents to be an influence on our kids, love our kids, teach and train our kids, nurture our kids, and provide for our kids. This is a monumental task of love … and, if you’re like us, you feel an immense burden when trying to make all this happen on your own for the kingdom of God. But there was something else Brian said … WE NEED HELP! Amen, and again I say, AMEN! In spite of what we may or may not do, we as parents have to trust that God, working through the Holy Spirit and the community of believers, will reach our kids in His way and in His time. In our own power (even with the help of VeggieTales), we can’t “save” them. As much as we want our kids to place their trust in Jesus, it won’t happen until God does a work in them through the Holy Spirit. I didn’t always know that, but I feel that immense burden lifted and a sense of relief when I pray for my sons and place my sons (now men) in God’s hands and trust that He will work His will in their lives.

Brian is absolutely right — God has given us the responsibility, as parents, for doing what we can so that our kids are brought up to know and love God; to understand Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection; and to believe that God loves them and wants them with Him forever. But in spite of our loving them, influencing them, training them, nurturing them, and providing for them, our kids may reject God and Christianity. But the hope we have as parents is knowing that God loves them and seeks to bring them to Himself. We still need to do our part. But just remember: in spite of our best intentions and everything we may or may not do, thankfully, God is still in control.

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Seasons of Trouble

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by Brian Waple

This past Sunday, Martin spoke on a section from the Gospel of Mark, specifically, the Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed. In Mark 4, verses 5–6, we read, “Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died” (Mark 4:5-6, NLT). Later, when the disciples were asking Jesus to explain the meaning of the parable, Jesus replied, “The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word” (Mark 4:16-17).

Problems . . . suffering . . . sorrows . . . troubles. We all go through these seasons. We cry out, “God, where are You in this?” And, God is silent. As a church, we have gone through these seasons. Personally, I have gone through these seasons. “God, please show us what You are doing here. Where are You working? How are we being used in this situation?” And, God is silent. The biggest sorrow is that we start to doubt our hope and lose our joy. We understand that this journey can be a challenge . . . that we must endure the race . . . that we’re being tested and purified through difficulty. We understand all of that. But when the pain we experience causes us to lose sight of the hope and joy that comes from faithfully putting our complete trust in God, when we sense that the impenetrable underlying rock is keeping our roots from getting through, we begin to let the seeds of faith die, little by little. I used to believe that these problems were just things that happened to us. I now understand that these troubles are anything that takes our eyes off God and His promises to us.

I have recently become familiar with Psalm 62, which has given me the assurance that I need to be hopeful in the face of trouble:

I wait quietly before God,
for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will never be shaken.

So many enemies against one man—
all of them trying to kill me.
To them I’m just a broken-down wall
or a tottering fence.
They plan to topple me from my high position.
They delight in telling lies about me.
They praise me to my face
but curse me in their hearts.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:1–8)

It may seem at times that God is silent; that the trouble we experience in this world and the pain it causes are threatening to kill our hope and joy. But take heart—He continues to work on our behalf, because He loves us. Knowing that and living the assurances found in Psalm 62 will give us the refuge we so desperately seek during these seasons of trouble.

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Hospitality Revisited

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by Brian Waple

I’ve been thinking about hospitality and asking myself, Am I a hospitable person? And, what could God be calling me to so that I would be more hospitable? What does that look like? My brother-in-law is a very hospitable person, and I’ve tried to be more like him in that area. In addition to opening his home to his congregation (he’s a pastor), he engages in a form of hospitality that I’ve tried to embrace. It looks like this: You go into a shop, or a restaurant, or a drive-up window, or whatever. Normally, there is a person there to help you, serve you, or wait on you. They might be a cashier. If you look, they usually have a light-colored name tag with their name in dark letters: Bob, or Mary, or Cindy, or Dylan. We don’t always take the time to look at the name tag because we’re too involved in what we’re doing, we’re too busy talking with our friends, or we just don’t care. But, how difficult would it be to take notice and let them know that in being noticed, you value them as a person? Call them by their name and they feel valued. And, isn’t that also part of what being hospitable means? I think you learn to be hospitable by being a hospitable person. No one should have to show you how that works. I have found that when you show interest in others, they are more likely to be willing to show an interest in being with and helping you. And, isn’t that how developing relationships start? Isn’t that how opening ourselves and being hospitable to others starts?

I’ve also come to believe that even if we don’t agree with what some people say, how they act, or what they do, everyone deserves to be acknowledged. Now, this doesn’t mean that we make them our best friends or that we agree with how they live or what they say or do, but we acknowledge them and show them that we respect them as people because they are, after all, God’s creatures. Now, I’ll be honest, I’m the first to admit I struggle with this. But, if we’re called to be hospitable people, how can we not be willing to acknowledge those we may find difficult? There’s that wonderful passage in Matthew:

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:34–40, NLT [my italics])

So, being hospitable doesn’t take a lot of effort. It can be as simple as addressing the next person who helps you or serves you or waits on you by their name. This shows them that you value them as a person. And it helps us learn to be the hospitable Body God is calling us to be.

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