February 27 GIVING THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess. 5:18, R.S.V.
A baby dies by falling out of a speeding car. Can the mother thank God for this? A teenager becomes a quadriplegic when his car is hit by a drunk driver. Are the parents to thank God for his now-limited future? I hear it again and again: Christians are saying Yes to these questions.
And that yes has an edge on it! "If you, as a Christian, do not answer Yes, then you do not believe that God is in control of your life. You do not believe today's text. In other words, you are not much of a Christian."
Well my answer to the above question is No! God is not drilling us to become unfeeling automatons. We are not to swallow our intelligence and go through the motions of praising God for things that are horribly wrong. God does not expect us to thank Him for all circumstances, but to thank Him in all circumstances. Thank Him for sustaining us through the crisis that would drive us insane were it not for His abiding presence. Thank Him that we know that this world is not the last statement of what shall be. Thank Him for all that He is, in spite of all the slander that has been heaped up against His name--often in the name of religion and right.
To thank God that your baby fell out of a speeding car is to indict God as a murderer. "But," you say, "I've asked God to take control of my life and the lives of my children! He let it happen!" Remember: We are on enemy territory! And that enemy is the destroyer of souls. We can expect only that he will be allowed to demonstrate that fact until the great controversy between good and evil is ended. In the meantime, God has promised to be with us and to help us make the kinds of decisions that will enable us to live not only responsibly and accountably but confidently and productively as well.
Dear reader, if there are painful circumstances in your life in which you can see little or no good, look beyond them to the mighty God, your tenderhearted Father. His goodness is never-changing, His love for you is unbudging, and His plans for your life and the lives of your loved ones are far greater than your highest thoughts can reach.
Rejoice and be exceeding glad! Our God is larger than any circumstances in our lives.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess. 5:18, R.S.V.
A baby dies by falling out of a speeding car. Can the mother thank God for this? A teenager becomes a quadriplegic when his car is hit by a drunk driver. Are the parents to thank God for his now-limited future? I hear it again and again: Christians are saying Yes to these questions.
And that yes has an edge on it! "If you, as a Christian, do not answer Yes, then you do not believe that God is in control of your life. You do not believe today's text. In other words, you are not much of a Christian."
Well my answer to the above question is No! God is not drilling us to become unfeeling automatons. We are not to swallow our intelligence and go through the motions of praising God for things that are horribly wrong. God does not expect us to thank Him for all circumstances, but to thank Him in all circumstances. Thank Him for sustaining us through the crisis that would drive us insane were it not for His abiding presence. Thank Him that we know that this world is not the last statement of what shall be. Thank Him for all that He is, in spite of all the slander that has been heaped up against His name--often in the name of religion and right.
To thank God that your baby fell out of a speeding car is to indict God as a murderer. "But," you say, "I've asked God to take control of my life and the lives of my children! He let it happen!" Remember: We are on enemy territory! And that enemy is the destroyer of souls. We can expect only that he will be allowed to demonstrate that fact until the great controversy between good and evil is ended. In the meantime, God has promised to be with us and to help us make the kinds of decisions that will enable us to live not only responsibly and accountably but confidently and productively as well.
Dear reader, if there are painful circumstances in your life in which you can see little or no good, look beyond them to the mighty God, your tenderhearted Father. His goodness is never-changing, His love for you is unbudging, and His plans for your life and the lives of your loved ones are far greater than your highest thoughts can reach.
Rejoice and be exceeding glad! Our God is larger than any circumstances in our lives.
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