Each
time an unbeliever hears these words ‘in everything give thanks’ he wonders
what there is to be thankful for? What follows is a string of questions to
justify that we cannot give thanks always. When we were born into the world,
there was reason for thanksgiving, wasn’t there? Did it happen by our will or because
of the divine principle of seedtime and harvest?
God
is supreme in all He does. He does not have to explain the ‘what and when or
how’ He does things. Our daily prayer should be ‘Your will be done on earth as
it is in heaven.’ God will not consult us or give us a forewarning either for
fear that we might become all hysterical and upset or become contented and even
inflated without a cause.
One
thing is certain, God has declared in His Word that nothing—even to the minute
details--takes place without His knowledge. He says that ‘the tiniest bird (a
sparrow) will not fall to the ground without His will.’ (Matthew 10:29) We do
not have the right to enquire why. The right attitude to adopt is to give
thanks—it could have been a lot worse.
In
life what we really need is protection from the devil whose desire is ‘to kill
and steal and destroy.’ (John 10:10a) Jesus said He came ‘that we might have
life and have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10b) All that we possess has been
given to us by God. He can choose to deny any request, delay it or ignore it
outright. In whatever He does He is just. He does not take back what He has
given to us. “...for God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)
Sometimes, we lose it to Satan because we open ourselves up to his devilish
tactics.
God
has a plan for each of us that He alone will implement “For I know the plans I
have for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and
a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) This is the reason why in life we have different
roles and functions to play. We are pieces of puzzles which have been put
together to paint a complete and holistic picture.
We
may not fathom why God should be silent about our problems; why bad things
happen to good people; but whichever way we see it God is in complete control.
Making reference to the incident in Siloam when a tower collapsed killing
eighteen people, Jesus made the comment “Do you think they were more guilty
than all the others living in Jerusalem?” (Luke 13:4) It is one of those things
that do not make sense to us. Those whom Pilate had murdered and ‘mixed their
blood with their sacrifices were not worse sinners that all the other Galileans
because they suffered this way.’ “Unless you repent, you too will all perish,”
He concluded. (Luke 13:5)
Remember
there are contrary forces at play in this world called principalities and
powers. They rule this world with wickedness. Whilst they may succeed in
wrecking havoc, they are not a force to be reckoned with before God. Whatever
the circumstances we must give thanks. Thank God for His multiple favours, His
goodness, loving-kindness and tender mercies. Sometimes we bring these things
upon ourselves and blame God. For long Job had feared for the lives of his
children and was in a habit of offering sacrifices to appease God on their
behalf. When finally all of them died on the same day after a mighty wind
suddenly swept the four corners of the house where his son and daughters had
been feasting and drinking wine, he lamented: “What I feared has come upon me,
what I dreaded has happened to me.” (Job 3:25)
In
Old Testament days, breaking the law had its consequences. Today as believers,
God has made provision for our sins by putting the punishment on His Son. He
has exchanged His righteousness for our sinfulness. We have become like Christ
for He took our sin upon Himself on the cross in exchange for His
righteousness. When we sin God does not count it against us, for His Son has
already paid for all our sins—past, present and future. It does not mean that
we have the liberty to sin because our sins have been forgiven in full. We have
to be grateful for what Christ has done, for in Him we now have eternal
life.
The
reason why we worship and praise God is to express our heartfelt thanks to Him
for His wondrous deeds because there is nothing we did to merit, earn or
deserve it. As we tread this earth we shall know only partially and not wholly
what God has accomplished on our behalf.
It
does not make sense to thank God when we have been hurt, when we are in the
valley and there is no help in sight or when we are going through difficult
times. Well if we do not we will be magnifying the problem we cannot do
anything about. We will be focussing on the negative things and not on the
positive. The more we look at the downside of things, the more depressed we
will become. This is the best time to look to God and to praise Him, for it
could have been worse. When we look to God, we are saying ‘Lord I am not able
to get out of this rut but you can do it and I am leaving it all to You.’ Job
did not complain over his losses, he trusted in the ability of God to bring
relief. He even prayed for his friends who accused him of sin. What happened
after? God blessed him with the double of what Satan had robbed him of. “The
Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.”
(Job 42:10)
Our
God is a good God. He says everything will work together for good for those who
love Him and for those who walk according to His pleasure. (1 Corinthians 2:9)
