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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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Power

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By Jeff Foerster

“God’s power is our birthright.” If this phrase evokes images of eagles, apple pie, and baseball, you’re not alone; you’re a red-blooded American patriot. You’re also missing the point.

This power and this “birth” did not take place at infancy and in geography, but at a time of mystery, a time of wonder, a time of power, in which we were lifted from a position of helplessness, having been enslaved to sin, and placed securely in the arms of God. It was this marvelous power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. And this power was given to us in the Spirit, who dwells within all who place their hope in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The power of God was not only a “one-time-for-salvation” power. The believer can say, “God has saved me, is saving me, and will deliver me.” We are experiencing the “is” moment. Because the Holy Spirit lives within each believer, God is sanctifying, making holy, that which belongs only to Him.

The power of God is evident—it gets results. By it we put to death the deeds of the flesh. It does not mean we will not face temptation, but that temptation need not overpower us. It does not imply that ungodly desire will retreat permanently, but that where the Holy Spirit dwells, sin is not welcome. And where the Holy Spirit dwells, there is power.

In more specific terms, we grow to value others more, and we focus upon self less. We will grow in truth, both in speaking it—avoiding lies and being honest in word and deed—and in rightly accepting God’s proclaimed truth in Scripture. We will continue to have future goals, dreams, and plans, but where we face interruptions to these, trust in God’s goals and God’s plans will bring about peace.

Unannounced visits, unexpected expenses, delays in schedules and changes in plans—none of these are cause for alarm when the Holy Spirit is ruling the heart and the mind of the believer. Is your heart and mind in step with the heart and mind of Christ? If so, praise Him! If it is not, cry out to Him! In all things, and by His power, submit yourself to His truth, to His holiness, and peace will be your constant companion.

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Grasshopper

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By Brian Sharpe

Personal care is something we all need to work on, but I am not sure we always understand what that means. I know when I am living in my head, it usually doesn’t end well. I didn’t understand why until this past week. Tomina and I were sitting in some teaching sessions while at our district’s pastors and wives retreat. The speaker was Dr. Gary Oliver, and he was talking about fear and anxiety during one of the sessions. He gave us four easy steps to worry. First, observe a situation. Then, interpret the situation. The next step is to exaggerate the situation. The fourth is grasshopper.

He used the example of the spies going from the desert to Canaan. God had told them in Numbers 13 to go to the land that “He would give them.” The spies didn’t trust what God said. They went into the land, observed the people, and then exaggerated the situation and told everyone that there is no way they could go into the land God that God promised them because the people would devour them. They said they were like grasshoppers compared to the people in the promised land, which led them to worry and not trust what God told them.

I see this happening so often in my life. I won’t ask questions about something because I believe I already know the answer. I will assume the worst because I have observed the situation, interpreted it, exaggerated it—and then grasshopper. When we go down this path of worry, it tears us up inside. It hinders our ability to have relationships with others and leads us to loneliness. How I—and ultimately all of us—can combat this is by doing the following:

  • Giving people the benefit of the doubt
  • Not assuming the outcome
  • Having conversation where there are hurts
  • Trusting what we know to be true from the Word of God

When I do these things, worry will melt away and freedom comes. It is when I am not willing to deal with the exaggerations in my life that I am in bondage to circumstances. God has given us freedom through the work of Christ on the cross. He has given us the truth we can live by in the Word of God. One of those truths is that we need to live in unity with one another. Philippians 2:1-4 says,

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Let’s choose to deal with the grasshopper effect by dealing with the exaggeration that comes in our minds while going through life. We need to choose to give people the benefit of the doubt, not assuming we know the outcomes, dealing with hurts between us and others, trusting what we know to be true about God from Scripture. If we do this, we can limit the effect worry has on our lives as well as build up our community of faith and, ultimately, our faith in the Lord. Let’s pursue emotional and relational health together. Grasshopper.

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God Is Sovereign in Our Suffering

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By Bill Naron

God’s sovereignty is very weighty, and at times it can be difficult to rationalize with our emotions and hard to reason within our thoughts. We find that in the good times we can rejoice in the truth of His sovereignty. However, in seasons of suffering, the reality of this truth can be so hard to grasp.

All throughout the Scriptures, we can find references to God’s supremacy. For example, the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This speaks to God’s supremacy by showing us He is above and before all things.

Growing up in church, I have heard this concept preached so many times. However, over the last couple of weeks, this has been impressed more heavily upon my soul as something that I have just not grasped fully. It has begun to stir up a passion within me that is difficult to contain. Then, in my morning devotions today, I read the following verse:

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9.

During the sermon on Sunday, a couple of statements really caught my attention. One of them communicated that Rich and Marla knew no matter what the outcome was, God was still God, and He still had a plan and a purpose. The second statement was when Rich described rejoicing when they found out what had caused Marla to collapse originally.

I thought of these statements as I read through this verse from my devotions this morning. I thought about what an inspiration and a blessing it is to be part of a community that has so many stories of people such as Rich and Marla, who came on hard times and yet saw the sovereignty of God in their situations. This is such a great encouragement to the rest of us who have difficulty seeing this.

I have been wrestling with the idea of God’s supremacy in all of life—not just in good times, but in suffering as well. I have had to reflect on difficulties and sufferings that have happened in my own life.

I think about my son who was diagnosed with mild Dandy-Walker variant. This is a very rare condition that affects his cerebellum. While he looks and acts much like any other three-year-old, there are a lot of unknowns for him as he ages. He has overcome so many things already, from struggling with stiff muscles as a baby to balance issues as a toddler. Every milestone he has hit and exceeded what seemed to be the expectation.

As I reflect on this, I see truly the hand of God in my son Jasher’s situation, and I can see how God is glorified. At first the answers came so slowly, and there are still a lot of unknowns, but God is still God. I can see how this experience was used to bring my wife and me closer to our Father. In the storms, when we are at our weakest, when our fear of the unknown has gripped us, when we can’t see how God is present, we do not in the moment always see that there is a plan and a purpose.

The truth of Scripture, though, is that God always has a purpose for the things that happen in our lives. He cares for us, and nothing happens in this world without God knowing about it. God is never caught off guard!

In our suffering, are we going to live in the truth and perspective that God is sovereign? Knowing that God could make it so that we never suffered, are we going to trust that God is God and has a purpose for allowing this suffering to enter our lives?

God’s grace is what is sufficient, and it is not by my own strength that I live this life, but it is because of Him that we live. The purpose for our suffering is that we would grow more satisfied in the person of Jesus. That in our suffering we would choose to surrender to God and choose to say, “God, You are still God, no matter the outcome of my situation.” This is how we glorify our Father in the midst of our suffering: by relying solely on Him.

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