Happy Thanksgiving!
Are you a thankful or disgruntled person? Are you careful to thank people when they do something for you even if it is something that they are supposed to do? How do you feel when someone thanks you for doing something that you were supposed to do, like your boss? Are you thankful when things are going well? Are you still thankful when things are not going well? When you remain thankful does it draw to you and give them hope? Let me share with you what I have learned about hope.
The apostle James tells us that all good things are from God, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:17-18 (ESV) This being the case I have found that I need to be thankful for all that I have. He also says that God had a role in my creation and my salvation. It is by his will that I am where I am today.
Sometimes I find myself being thankful when all is well. But then I become anxious by my troubles, I start to grumble and complain. Then I read and struggle with 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 which says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (ESV) As I have gone through my struggles with my wife’s Laura mental illness and suicide, I did not feel like I should be rejoicing or be thankful. However, I needed to focus on the truth in God’s Word not my feelings. It is once that I trusted in these words that my hope was restored. I believe this was true because when I apply God’s Word in my life things always get better. The Apostle Paul says it well in Philippians 4:4-8 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (ESV) Peace-filled thankfulness comes from obeying God’s Word.
There are also times when I neglect being thankful. It is when everything is going along as I had planned. There were no difficulties, and I was sailing along on calm seas. I have found that in the same way God warned the Israelites, that I must remain thankful. In Deuteronomy 8 Moses gives a command from God to the Israelites to remember. I would suggest you take the time to read the whole chapter but this to me is a great excerpt from it. “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” Deuteronomy 8:18-19 (ESV) Strong words with a powerful message not to forget that all that I am and all that I have is because of God. When I do not remember I become prideful and then I fall. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 (ESV)
I pray you will join me in thanksgiving to the God who never changes, who will never be unfaithful to us, who always keeps His promises, whose steadfast love endures forever. He loves us so much He sent His Son Jesus Christ to restore our relationship with Him. Finally, know that God has something new every morning for us. It is these things that give us hope. Remember from past blogs that it is by knowing God that we have hope. The relationship with God through Jesus brings us hope in the present and the future. I would also encourage you to seek Jesus for He is the only opportunity there is to have eternal life. This is to me the greatest source of hope. In doing so, I believe we will have hope and joy during our everyday lives. Understanding that Jesus Christ allows us to access eternal life, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 (ESV) This will allow us to have hope. At the same time understanding you will live eternally knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ and this will bring you the greatest hope. Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for sins. His payment satisfies all my sins from the past, the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because holiness shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here.
You can watch book trailer about my book.
You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here.
eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
