We tend to focus on giving thanks this month because of the Thanksgiving holiday that comes around on the fourth Thursday each November. And typically, Thanksgiving is meant to be a welcomed time to pause, gather, reflect, and give thanks. However, the last eighteen months have certainly tried to upend much of what we look forward to each Thanksgiving.
Politics have left many divided, troubled, and exhausted and the pandemic has left many of us nervous around and isolated from one another. There are many who still wonder if it’s even safe to gather the way we’d like or are used to. And for others, the instabilities and uncertainties that remain have left us more anxious, irritable, and prone to complaining. I suspect for some; this Thanksgiving may feel strangely inconvenient and perhaps even inappropriate.
For myself, as I have walked the journey with my mom and her battle with cancer, I have found myself spending a considerable amount of time thinking about what is means to truly give thanks to God, to live with a thankful heart, and reflect a thankful life – one that goes beyond a holiday and grows into an everyday expression of thankfulness. But living a life of thankfulness isn’t always easy, and it can be especially difficult during challenging times like the ones we find ourselves in at this moment. So, while living a life of thankfulness isn’t necessarily a complicated task, it does require us to be intentional about making a conscious choice to be thankful.
I think what we need right now is a guide, and when I dwell on who that guide could be, besides Jesus, I can think of no better example than the apostle Paul and his letter to the Colossians. Because despite what he was suffering personally locked away in prison along with the many reasons he had to be angry, fearful, and despairing – he remained thankful. “We always thank God,” he begins (Colossians 1:3). He could have begun his letter with complaining, and instead he punctuates his letter with profound thankfulness (Colossians 1:12; 2:7; 3:15–17; 4:2), and each chapter captures another dimension of healthy, God-glorifying thankfulness.
Giving thanks to God is difficult and generally not our first response in the disappointment, anxiety, and complaining, which are the normal, natural, earthly responses to circumstances like ours. And the apostle Paul knew that all too well. However, there are things that remain to be grateful for. Amid all these challenging things there are still opportunities to laugh, to connect, to work, to love, to care, and to find ways to enjoy life.
And as Paul nears the end of his letter, he is emphatic in stressing the vital and spiritual importance of thankfulness. Notice how he repeats himself: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:15–17)
You can hear him driving home the theme – Let peace rule in your hearts with thankfulness. Let praise rise up from your mouths with thankfulness. Let all you say and do – be done in thankfulness. Whatever you do – even in a global pandemic, even amid political upheaval, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health – do it all in the name of Jesus and do it with thankfulness to God.
My prayer for us as we journey through these uncertain times is that each of us would allow this season of Thanksgiving to be an opportunity to renew our thankfulness to God. Because, no matter what we suffer, or how deeply we suffer, or how long we’re forced to wait for healing and relief, God has made us his in Christ and promised us himself forever – and in this my friends we have endless reasons to be thankful.
I wonder then how you would choose to live differently for the remaining weeks of this challenging year and beyond? What doors might God be opening in the inconveniences, the cancellations, the restrictions, the interruptions, and the disappointments to come? And, if we do all that we do with thankfulness on our minds and in our hearts, then I also think we will be far more likely to recognize the doors as God opens them.
So, allow me to take this opportunity to share with you one of the things I am most thankful to God for, and that is YOU! I’d like to say thank you for your love, your trust, your understanding, your compassion, your partnership, your encouragement, your honesty and your struggling. Most of all for your willingness to continue walking this journey of faith and life together.
I thank God every time I think of you!
Pastor Tony
