This time of year, we Americans, focus on being thankful. We have a holiday for it, in fact...Thanksgiving Day. It used to be a bigger deal when I was a kid, but now it gets shoved aside because everything Christmas, including music and Santa, comes out in our stores the day after Halloween. Many purists fight to give Thanksgiving Day it's rightful place. They refuse to decorate for Christmas, listen to the radio stations that play all Christmas music and won't even buy Christmas presents until the day after Thanksgiving. And this year, I've noticed a large number of my Facebook friends posting the reasons why they're thankful. Many are even trying to post something new daily.
These posts have ranged from coffee to a warm bed to sleep in. Thanks for friends, family, church, small groups, favorite restaurants, safety, employment, and various other blessings have been offered throughout the month.
Do you notice the things that are missing?
I have yet to see anyone say "Thankful that my husband lost his job this year", "Thankful that we're living hand to mouth with nothing to spare", "Thankful that my parent passed away", "Thankful for being brought up in a broken home", "Thankful that my kids are doing poorly in school", "Thankful for being falsely accused of wrongdoing" or "Thankful that my marriage is falling apart". You may be thinking, "Is she thankful she's losing her mind?" Why would we be thankful for the nasty stuff in our lives...the pain...the grief...the burdens...the "yuck"?
Glad you asked! Please do not think that I make light of anyone's pain! Here's what I read last week in Habakkuk:
"Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord GOD is my strength..." (Hab. 3:17-19a, NASB)
I intended to write these verses down on an index card and put it on my bathroom mirror last week, but the day got away from me and I never got back to doing it. Well, I guess God wanted me to remember this lesson, because it was one of the Scripture references for Jesus Calling today.
Both times I've read this Scripture, I've been reminded of a "crisis" point that God brought me to back in May 2010. I'd had dinner with someone and they said something like, 'I wish your family could just get a break.' It wasn't me, it had to be the Holy Spirit who in that moment gave me the ability to reply, "Being completely dependent on God for absolutely everything...I can't imagine a better place to be."
A day or so later as I reflected on that conversation, I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude...I think like I've never experienced before...and I soon found myself face down on my floor, sobbing and telling God, "Thank You for the privilege of living this life." This life in which others can see You working. This life in which others can see Your Hand of provision. This life that may have lost everything material...but has culminated in the opposite of Jesus' warning: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Matthew 16:26, NASB)
I still vividly remember that day and look back on it as a day when I put a "stake in the ground" that keeps me focused on God...not on self-pity or wallowing. I can't truthfully say I've never doubted or struggled since that day...because in many ways our circumstances are even worse than they were on that day in May 2010, but self-pity and wallowing have no longer been the prevailing attitude hanging over my life since I humbly submitted and thanked God for the privilege of all we've gone through.
Now, I readily admit that losing everything financially and not knowing where the money for bills is going to come from is a far cry from many of the trials that others have faced. There is deep nastiness in many of our lives for which we could never dream of being thankful...or is that just our own perception of our trials?
This has challenged me the last few days, and particularly since I read these verses in Habakkuk again this morning. So today I thought back over some of the no good, awful, very bad...yes, nasty...stuff that has happened in my life. I intentionally even tried to think of the things that have happened through no fault of my own...the things for which our culture would say we are the "victim": issues with pettiness from others in my past (sometimes not directed at me, but at people I loved); my past grievances with the way I was raised; the loss of two children through miscarriage; my dad's sin that robbed my children of a typical grandfather relationship; the death of my father-in-law before two of our children where even born; my grandmother attempting to turn into her driveway and being run over by a man that had admittedly smoked pot recently; and yes, the loss of our home, half of our stuff, our car and the lifestyle with which we were comfortable...and this is only the beginning.
Today...I chose to thank God for ALL of it...the good...the bad...and the downright ugly. And the things that are too personal to even put here...yeah, I thank Him for those too! Why? Because even if it seems like there was absolutely no redeeming value to what I went through (even though with almost all of these there is!)...the thing to be thankful for is that He brought me through it. It didn't kill me...and what's that saying? "If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger."
And if I truly believe that anything God allows to happen to me is for my good and His glory...then there has to be good for me in each of these. If I'm growing stronger in Him and He's able to shape me into becoming more like the woman He created me to be...that is to His glory (revealing His true character). I was even able to share a little of this lesson with my kids this morning and we talked about even the loved ones that we've lost...we can be confident it was for their good because they now stand before their God complete and worshipping Him for all eternity.
What did Paul assure us? "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison..." (2 Corinthians. 4:17, NASB) Even if the rest of my life is spent suffering one trial after another...this is "momentary" and "light" compared with the heaviness of the weight of glory when we stand before our God for all of eternity.
Do you think Abraham Lincoln grasped this when he legalized Thanksgiving as a national holiday? Southern states began seceding right after his election. He's the only U.S. President to come to Washington for his inauguration in the cover of night. He's the only one to serve over a divided nation for his entire term. He was assassinated before the final end to the Civil War. He never knew a day of complete peace during his presidency. Yet, in 1863...in the midst of the bloodiest fighting this nation has ever known...while small towns lost an entire generation of young men...our country celebrated it's first nationally declared holiday of Thanksgiving. I can't think of a worse time in our nation's history to officially celebrate being thankful...but we did!
So I challenge you...it won't be easy...and it will take intentional thought, much prayer, and an openness to giving up some of your wounds and scars. In other words, this is something that could turn your way of thinking completely upside down...but the things which have happened to you and/or your family...for which the world says you deserve to be hurt, depressed, maybe even bitter...on this day, you feel God's Holy Spirit leading you to thank Him for how He has moved and worked in your life through that situation. You may choose to just start with the most recent circumstance and let Him lead you from there.
Two things I can absolutely guarantee you if you allow Him to lead you to do this:
- It will be one of the most difficult spiritual exercises you will ever do, and
- You will experience His Spirit as Comforter in a whole new way.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mentioned in this post:
Getting caught up on your blog obviously! Another great post and so, so true. I'll never forget, right after I found out my marriage was falling apart and may not survive, my good friend DRAGGED me to a ladies thing at her church becuase even though she didn't know what to say and didn't have any answers, she knew where I needed to be. So while there, a little of my circumstances get share and this lady, who I have absolutely no idea who it was to this day said something to me I will never forget. She said something like this, "Oh how I wish I could experience something like this again. It can be the best time of your life"
ReplyDeleteOf course at that moment, I thought she was a bit nutty but she was so sincere, I knew there was some truth there.
A year and a half later, I had one of the absolute worst days and yet one of the best and most amazing days of my life at our final divorce hearing. I saw, felt, experienced, and knew God in a a way like I never had before...and there's no way I would trade that for anything in the world, including a 'saved' marriage.
Over the course of that year and the years to follow the struggles of being a single mom and down to past my last dollar multiple times (or throw in a host of other impossible situations here) has only served to give me experience after experience with Him that once again, I would not trade for anything :) ..."Light and momentary troubles..." indeed.