Giving Thanks
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Psalm 103:1-4
It’s that time of year again. The time when we all look at everything we have to be thankful for. Social media is full of people’s lists of the things they love in their life, and it’s a beautiful thing to see, especially during 2020. But, what if you’ve suffered only losses this year?
I started writing this blog on Monday of this week… on Tuesday evening, I received a call that three of our church members had been in a serious car accident, and the entire meaning of giving thanks changed. As usual in situations like this, first reports were bleak. As our entire church family and much of this small town went to their knees in prayer for this family, I was thankful for many things:
remembering the prayers of the older child praising God for the salvation of their entire family, and a family circle that would be forever unbroken,
a report that they were all alive and had made it to the hospital,
a report that it wasn’t as bad as first suspected,
and the final report that they were stable and alert.
The injuries are serious, and will take time to heal, but it could have been so much worse. Our church family is breathing a sigh of relief after an evening and night of wakeful prayer. We will continue to pray for and support them in any way needed as they recover from their various injuries.
In the midst of situations like these, where does your heart turn? Do you have that hope and assurance in your heart that regardless of the outcome, you will be fine? Does your family? Do your friends? My heart was broken at the news that my friends had been injured, but as I prayed for their safety, and that the Lord would guide the eyes and hands of the doctors and surgeons as they attended to their needs, I also rejoiced that the entire family had a relationship with Christ. Whatever the outcome, even if it had been devastating, they were covered by the blood of Jesus and assured of eternal life in His presence.
Looking back at this year… it seems as though the bad news has been unending. Between the pandemic, racial unrest, and election drama, the news has been far more bad than good. We are celebrating Thanksgiving today, watching a Macy’s parade with no one on the street, most participants masked, and even the commentators sitting far apart. Personally, my family is celebrating separate from my parents and my siblings for the first time ever. It feels strange… I’d much prefer being crammed into my parent’s house with my very large family, meeting some of my great-nephews for the first time, playing board games and enjoying time together, but we aren’t.
So, this year has definitely been a struggle.
Are you still thankful?
As I pondered the situation earlier this week, I considered Job. His losses were far greater than anything we can comprehend. Even as Job’s wife grew exasperated with his faithfulness in the midst of a horrible situation, his faith remained strong.
He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. Job 2:10
Job’s faith through adversity is a lesson for all of us. Could we suffer the losses he did and continue to live a life full of faith? I have friends and family who have had to walk through grief that no one ever expects. Tragedies and unexpected illnesses have changed their lives in ways they could never have predicted, and yet many of them have maintained a close relationship with God. How do they do it? Do they feel loss differently than a non-believer? I don’t believe so. Their losses were just as devastating as they would have been for anyone, however, in the midst of the worst days of their lives, they still had hope. I believe that the relationship they have with Christ and the knowledge of the relationship that the people they’ve lost had with Him is a comfort even in the darkest of days.
In the midst of everything that has happened this year, I choose today to rejoice. I rejoice that a loving Creator chose to give us the free will to choose to submit to Him, even understanding that many of us would not even acknowledge His existence, He sent His Son to die for our sins, and then gave us the Holy Spirit to indwell us at the point of salvation. Regardless of other trials we face, we can always be thankful for that.
