1 Chronicles 29:10-13 [NLTse]
“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may You be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on Earth is Yours, O Lord, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the One Who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from You alone, for You rule over everything. Power and might are in Your hand, and at Your discretion people are made great and given strength.
13 “O our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name!
A few years ago, a new book reached the #1 spot on the New York Times best-seller list. The book’s title was: “Final Exit”, by Derek Humphry, the director of the national Hemlock Society. It gives detailed instructions on a variety of ways to commit suicide. When a book is written about how to end your life, and it ends up on the best-seller list, you get the impression that there is something wrong out there. All of this in the wealthiest land in all the world, with more privileges, freedoms and possibilities than anywhere else, at any time. It speaks of how much we take for granted, and, it seems to me, how much ingratitude has poisoned our hearts. Americans have piled things on top of their pain, and found that all these things make poor anesthetics. Under all the luxury we are still more unhappy than many of those who live in abject poverty! Is there any more telling evidence that people are desperately in need of God? Can anyone come up with a more plausible explanation? Americans deny themselves nothing — except a relationship with our Creator.
We can see this in the lives of many television “stars” and music “idols; in many business moguls and political “elite”: How many of these so rich and famous get addicted to alcohol and/or drugs; or have affairs and gambling troubles; require all manner of sordid cover-ups and spin-doctors for their dark and shameful stories… They seem to have it all, yet their woes speak to an emptiness deep down inside that they are trying to fill. There is a hunger they cannot satisfy, and a thirst they cannot quench. Anyone here feel like that today?
In contrast, listen to the words of the apostle Paul as he described what his life was like: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). Paul’s life was filled with many difficulties which he could have complained about. How many of us would put up with constant stress, confusion, persecution, and beatings that left deep scars and permanent injuries, and still maintain a positive attitude?
But Paul had learned an important secret to life. He said, “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, Who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13). He had learned the secret of not living life based on the conditions around him. His happiness was not based on situations, but on his relationship with Christ. He knew he had all he needed in Jesus, for it was Christ that gave him the strength to live.
In Christ, God the Father is saying to us: “Don’t wait to be happy!” Don’t postpone happiness until your situation changes, or you have acquired a certain thing. If you cannot be happy now you will not be happy then, for happiness is not a matter of what you have, or what situation you are in. It is a matter of who you are and how you respond to life. It is found within, and unless it is on the inside, all the things in the world on the outside will not make a difference. If you have been saying, “I’ll be happy when…,” then you will never be happy, because when that condition is met there will be a dozen more conditions to take its place. If you cannot learn to be happy now, you will never learn to be happy in spite of how much you have or achieve. If you are not content with less you will never be content with more.
The Bible says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Notice that it does not say “Prosperity with contentment is great gain.” Contentment comes from seeking God, not things. Jesus said, “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). As His very Own children God calls us to seek after Him the way we seek after other things in our lives. (And perhaps if we sought God the way we seek after these other things many of our problems would disappear.) We have been made in such a way that our relationship with God is the source of our contentment. Nothing else can take His place.
Ecclesiastes says, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (5:10). You could be the wealthiest person on the face of the Earth and not be content. Likewise,you could be dirt poor and be quite satisfied.
Contentment comes when you learn that this world can never satisfy you, but that satisfaction can be found in a relationship with God and living for Him. It is that relationship which provides us with meaning and security in this life, and an assurance of eternal life where all our deepest needs will be completely satisfied. The Psalmist, when thinking of Heaven, said, “I will see Your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness” (Psalm 17:15). “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (Psalm 16:11). We can live through hardship or grief here, if it becomes necessary, because we are not expecting this world to satisfy us; we are looking to the world that is yet to come.
Author and theologian Henri Nouwen once wrote, “Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. I can choose to be grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly.”
Thanksgiving reminds us of what we have and Who gave it to us. Thanksgiving takes our mind off our wants and focuses them on our blessings. Thanksgiving gives our hands a rest from our labor and allows to us lift them in praise. Thanksgiving gives our minds a rest from thinking about our problems and lets us remember how few problems and needs we truly have.
The Bible says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:7). That is why we can say, “This is the day the LORD has made; [we will] rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). We are content, we are happy because we are a people of thanksgiving. We are a people of thanksgiving because we have a God Who cares. He has made us, and He has made our world. He has made today and all our tomorrows. And out of the gratitude we feel toward Him for all His faithful goodness, we want to share the blessings.
Being thankful is an act of faith. It means you are unafraid to live and be happy because you believe that God truly cares for you and will provide for you. You trust He is faithful and that His promises are true. You believe He will never fail. And when you have a relationship with this wonderful God you have contentment, joy, and a desire to pass on what God has blessed you with. To thank is simply trust in action…
Share thanksgivings…
Let me close with a prayer from Bible scholar Matthew Henry. He had been recently mugged. The words of his prayer remind me of how very much we have to be thankful for that we can so often take for granted. He prayed: “I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed.”
We have so much to be thankful for. Be thankful. Be thankful! Work at it. Revel in it! Be thankful.