Practicing Thankfulness

Being thankful and taking stock of our blessings tends to rise this time of year because of the Thanksgiving holiday that comes around on the fourth Thursday each November. Typically, many think of Thanksgiving as an opportunity to pause, gather, reflect, and give thanks. However, the chaos that continues to rise around the world threatens to upend much of what we look forward to each Thanksgiving.

Politics have left many divided, troubled, and exhausted and the anger and violence taking place in so many places, including within our own communities and families has left many of us nervous over the uncertainty and instability taking place around the world. 

As a spiritual practice I’ve tried to be intentional about taking time each day to think about what is means to truly give thanks to God, to live with a thankful heart, and to reflect a thankful life – especially one that goes beyond a holiday. But living a thankful life 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 thankful life isn’t necessarily complicated, it does however require intentionality about making a choice to be thankful.

But in order to do that I think it’s helpful for us to have a guide. And while Jesus is certainly number one, another great example for us is Paul and his letter to the Colossians. Despite what he was suffering personally, locked away in prison along with the many reasons he had to be angry, fearful, and despairing – he nevertheless 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 element of healthy, God-glorifying thankfulness.

Giving thanks to God can be difficult and it’s generally not our first reaction when we find ourselves in the midst of disappointment, anxiety, stress, or fear. And although these are normal and natural responses to circumstances such as those taking place in our world right now, the apostle Paul shows us that there are things that still remain to be grateful for. Amid all the challenging things taking place in our world and in each of our daily lives – there remains opportunities to laugh, to connect, to work, to love, to care, and to find ways to enjoy life. 

As Paul nears the end of his letter, he emphatically stresses the fundamental 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)

Did you catch the theme – Let peace rule in your hearts with thankfulness. Let praise rise up from your mouths with thankfulness. Let all that you say and do – let it all be done in thankfulness. Whatever you do – even in a shifting and uncertain world, 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 all of us is that as we journey through these uncertain times, 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 claimed us in Christ and promised this forever – and this my friends should give us endless reasons to be thankful.

With this in mind then, I wonder how you would choose to live differently for the remainder of this challenging year and beyond? What doors might God be opening in the inconveniences, the struggles, and the uncertainty to come? Because, if we do all that we do with thankfulness on our minds and in our hearts, then I also think we’ll be far more likely to recognize the doors as God opens them. 

So, I’d like to say how thankful I am for all of you and for the gift of being one of your pastors. Thank you for your love, trust, understanding, compassion, partnership, encouragement, honesty, and your wrestling. But most of all I’d like to thank you for continuing to walk this journey of faith and life together.

I thank God every time I think of you! Thanks be to God! Amen.

Pastor Tony

Practicing Thankfulness

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