But I don't want to live a life that only gives thanks one day of the year. Or even one month of the year.
This week I was challenged by the words of a study entitled "In Everything, Give Thanks" put out by #Shereadstruth, so I'm writing it here because I want, no I need, to remember the truth of these words, and because I could have written them myself:
"Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done."
(Psalm 105:1, NLT)
"What is God’s will for my life?
Oh, the many anxious hours I have spent with this question on repeat, searching for a spiritual formula to solve life’s riddles. My college years especially were a mishmash of trusting the Lord with newfound abandon yet agonizing over every decision. What am I supposed to study? Am I supposed to go on this mission trip or that one? The questions seemed to never end.
The weight of my young world balanced precariously on so many question marks. Sometimes it still does.
It isn’t that my college self's questions were not legitimate or important. They absolutely were. The questions were big and I felt small, and life seemed like the sum of a million puzzles, most missing a piece (or ten). Sometimes it still does. But as the years pass and draw me closer the Lord, a surprising truth has become apparent: God’s will is not a problem to be solved.
God’s Word tells me His faithfulness does not depend on my wisdom. (Lamentations 3:22-24) God’s Word tells me His grace does not depend on my performance. (Ephesians 2:8-9) God’s Word tells me that whatever shape my life takes, His steadfastness and goodness trump whatever is going on around me. (Psalm 136)
And if all that is true? It changes how I view every single circumstance in my life.
Our circumstances are big, but our God is bigger. As we learn to trust the bigness of our God and the sureness of His sovereignty, we find His will is not as much a path as it is a way of walking. Paul says as much in his letter to the church at Thessalonica, when He reduces all our agonizing life questions to a non-formula so simple it makes the perfectionists among us a little crazy:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. THIS is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
No hoops to jump through. No tests to pass. No situational tidiness required. Only actively resting in the goodness of our God.
Why an active resting? Because rejoicing is not a passive pursuit. Thanksgiving is not just an emotion. We are to declare God’s goodness in every circumstance! We are to let the world know what He has done and what He is doing! We are to pray to Him, seek Him, give Him thanks with an expectant, joyful heart. This is God’s will for us in Jesus! Exclamation point!
Oh, friends, there are so many heartaches among us today. So many question marks, so much waiting, so many hard puzzles missing a piece. But He is good. In everything, He is good.
His love for you is steadfast, no matter the path you’re walking. His promises hold fast, even when your world is crumbling. It is not up to you to be the god of your circumstances. It is for you to give thanks to the One who is larger than your circumstances."
We don't have to sit and worry and wonder what it is God's will is for our lives. Because his word tells us exactly what that is:
Rejoice always. In the good and the bad. In every circumstance and every situation. Because in the end good has already won and our hope in Jesus is sure.
Pray without ceasing. As in always. Pray for others fervently. Pray with confidence that the Lord hears and will answer, no matter what form that answer comes. Pray to be more like Jesus everyday, that the Holy Spirit would change and mold your heart to be a little more like Christ each day.
Give thanks in all circumstances. Oh, so much easier said than done. We praise God when the good things come, but the praises might flow more slowly from our lips when the bad things come instead. But out God, our faith in Him, is not dependent on emotion or circumstances. He is always good. Always. Even when we lose jobs and loved ones, and other securities that life seems to offer. Give thanks in every moment, in all things.
Because these three things, these are the will of God for your life. It's not that the questions we want answered, the circumstances we face, are suddenly less important. But when we put our present in the hands of God, rejoicing in Him, in prayer, and with a truly thankful heart. Well, that changes things. It shifts our perspective.
And that is exactly how I want to live my life.
It has been interesting to occasionally read your blog and see how you have grown from afar. Glad that you have continued to grow in your faith and wish the best for you in your journey.
ReplyDelete