Give Thanks

"...in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Confession: I struggle at times with certain passages in the Bible.
Reason: Not because I think they are untrue and therefore are not to be trusted. Rather, it's because I know them to be true.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Apostle Paul writes one of those passages that I just struggle with personally. It isn't because I think it is untrue. It isn't because don't believe it. Instead, it is because I know it is true and yet what God's word instructs me to do in that passage is so difficult. Others throughout the years and centuries have struggled in a similar way. As a matter of fact, when Jesus taught the multitudes about discipleship He and what it really meant to follow Him, the Bible records that many walked away to never follow Him any more. The reason? Because what Jesus said was "a hard saying."

I find this verse written to the believers in Thessalonica a hard saying. As I approach Thanksgiving this Thursday, I am reminded of the instruction given by inspiration of God's Spirit recorded in this verse. So often we read God's word and read into God's word what we want it to say. Or sometimes when His word speaks to multiple areas of our life, we may only apply it to the areas where it is easiest.

When God tells us "in everything give thanks," that statement has a pretty broad scope. And this is my struggle. See, if I could add just one word, I think the struggle would cease. Were it up to me, I would probably have written "in almost everything give thanks." But the absolute and all-encompassing nature of this verse creates difficulty for me. Because if we truly understand what is being written, we'll have to start giving thanks for many things about which we currently grumble, grip and complain.

This instruction from God's word means we are to give thanks in good times and bad times. When life is everything we envisioned and more, give thanks! When life seems to be coming apart at the seams, the wheels are coming off, the bottom is falling out and nothing is as we hoped or intended, give thanks!

This week thousands will gather for sumptuous meals and give thanks. Families will ask each other to expressed things for which they are thankful. Individuals will speak of family, friends, health, possessions, etc. But what if someone stood up and said, "I am thankful for disease"? What if someone said, "I am thankful for persecution"? Besides the fact that most individuals within earshot would conclude that person's mental deficiency, we'd all probably think it to be absurd. Yet doesn't God's word say we are to give thanks "in everything?"

You may protest (because you struggle like me) that it is ludicrous to give thanks for such things. But truly God's word means that in all of life's circumstances we are to give thanks for this is His will for us. Why? First of all, because regardless of life's circumstances, God never changes. Our thanksgiving is because of who He is and not what happens to us. Second, because God brings a multitude of circumstances into our lives so that He might work them for our good and His glory. Romans 8:28 says, "For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

The trouble is we miss that God is in control of all things. As a part of this, we miss God's providence (His ability to weave all of life's dimensions together for our good and His glory). Joseph was a man who was the victim of bad circumstances. Hated by his brothers. Sold as a slave. Taken to a foreign land. Accused falsely of a crime he did not commit. Forgotten by a jail house friend he had helped. But when we get close to the end of the story, we find Joseph speaking of God's providence. To his brothers who feared now that their father was dead that Joseph would exact revenge, he declares, "What you intended for evil toward me, God meant for good" (Genesis 50:20).

Recently a high school student and I were talking about all that has transpired in my family over the last 9 to 12 months. I made a statement that might shock many of you. I said, "If I were to go back just before Micah was born and I were given the ability to make the decision whether he would or would not have liver disease, I'm not sure that I should or would choose to take it away." Someone probably just labeled me a bad parent!

The reason I probably wouldn't change it is not because I want my son to be sick or have to live with this constant possibility that the liver will fail. It is because I know God. I know what He has done in my life through all this. I know what He has done in our family. I know the spiritual growth, the absolute dependence on Him and the glory He has received in and through it all. I know He is still weaving it all together for our good and His glory. I know that He can and will continue to use it in ways we never imagined. To change the circumstance would be to change all of this.

So this week I give thanks to a God who sees clearly and perfectly. I give thanks for healthy children and sick children. I give thanks for good times and bad times. I give thanks even for my son's liver disease. I give thanks for everything. Thank you Lord!

I give especial thanks to the God who continues to allow Micah to progress and do so well. Micah's bile ducts are open; his biopsy results are great. As of yesterday when his blood was drawn again, the liver levels are moving in the right direction (Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!). Thank you for praying. We will go back again on Monday of next week to get them checked again. But as of this moment, he is doing well and no changes in medications are being made. No procedures or further testing to be performed. He is doing incredibly well. While we know we are on a journey and the road could turn at any moment, praise God for what He has and continues to do.