Tag Archive | 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Philippians 4:6-7, My take…

Jul1
mountainside praying at sunrise
Saying thanks even when we don’t feel like it!

I have a one hour drive to the small country church where my husband pastors. The routine is he leaves before me and I drive in about an hour and half later. The larger portions of my journey are down a rural highway. So mostly I get to enjoy the displays of the four seasons whose star attraction is the stately trees.

Since the drive is somewhat lengthy, I habitually plug in my phone to a music app and select “Contemporary Christian Bands.” Since I am the sole listener, I get to pay attention to the words. And I pay attention because God is always faithful to whisper truths I need to be reminded of.

With grandchildren growing up and out, I just don’t get to enjoy their companionship as I use to. And because my kids either live too far away or a busy life prevents visits, their company is lacking as well. It’s hard to adjust to my solemn days. And I have to confess, lonely. My husband is a big help for having to do for him, keeps my mind occupied. But as a mom and grandmother, I find that the temptation to worry increases as the time between visits decreases.

Thus on the trip to church last Sunday God directed me to do something I hadn’t really done before. He charged me to evaluate the inner voice that was reminding me of the declining moments of memory making with my children and grans. To ask myself what was that inner voice trying to accomplish by reminding me of my sadness. I thought I was just pondering these sad thoughts in an attempt to try an understanding my aching heart.

While listening to a variety of songs I was reminded of God’s question. And I began noticing something. The words in the songs, reflected God’s faithfulness, mercy, compassion, and, yes, blessings even in difficult days. But that didn’t match up with the dialog in my head. So obviously, it wasn’t that I needed to have a better understanding of my troubles. The whisperings I was getting from God was ‘change the record.’

The point God was making was beginning to sink in. The feelings of sadness (feeling sorry for myself) were not prompted by God. With His encouragement, I now evaluate those thoughts as to their origin. And, as to their purpose. The answer is pretty obvious.

All I have to do to thwart the enemy’s attacks is to thank God for this season of my life. Children grow up and often move away. But God doesn’t run out of ideas for our lives when our house grows quiet and empty. Turning to Him in anticipation of what’s next will reveal new things to be thankful for. By allowing an attitude of thanksgiving to rule my thoughts. I will know peace. Not worry. Not sadness. Not loneliness. But a new appreciation for the changes God is making in my life.

The Memory of Thanksgiving…

Dec2

What was Thanksgiving like this year? What did it reveal? What was the focus? What did we ignore? What got left off?

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful. But what were we thankful for? Our abundance?

There was so much food and so much effort was poured into providing it. We gathered together, or as many of us as could. We joked around. Played games that revealed we probably watched too much tv.

But I wonder. Was there any mention of our historical legacy of the Pilgrims? Their thanksgiving wasn’t about abundance. For over half their numbers had died due to the lack of food and previous winter weather extremes. But they had survived that winter. The Wampanoag Indians had become their friends and taught them techniques on how to increase their harvest. They had known the faithful presence of God rescuing them from destruction. And they were thankful for God’s provision and deliverance.

Why would we want to be thankful for the difficult times our families might be experiencing? Why would God tell us to be thankful in all things because this is His will concerning us? It’s easy to be thankful for our abundance. But being thankful for the difficult times isn’t. Think about what we learn from surviving the difficult times though. Things like endurance, perseverance, character, and a deeper relationship with God and with those around us. Particularly in our family.

Focusing on our abundance promotes self centeredness, if we leave God out of it. And even then the focus tends to be more on ourselves than God. But when we focus on being thankful even when things aren’t so good, that turns the focus to God. We get glimpses of just how loving, how faithful and how powerful our God is.

Now that Thanksgiving is but a memory, let’s not allow our material blessings to overshadow our spiritual needs.

Thanks for things I was not so thankful for!

Nov17

Thanksgiving is upon us. And when we stop to ponder what we are thankful for, all sorts of reasons come to mind: family, friends, our Country, our jobs, our church, our provisions, food, shelter, clothing, our military, God’s beautiful creation. And that’s just scratching the surface!

But I want to focus on something just as wonderful, but perhaps not so obvious. How about all those hard times in our lives? Those times when we experienced rejection, humiliation, abandonment, pain, suffering, betrayal, disappointment, How on earth, we may ask, could we possibly be thankful for these?

I recall a time in my life when I encountered a time of huge disappointment and betrayal. It proved to be a pivotal point in my life. I had made a major decision that apparently many of my community did not agree with. It sent ripples of negative gossip throughout. Even affecting my home-life. For weeks I endured the fallout.

Yet, after a time of several conversations, but more importantly time spent with God in His word and prayer, I arrived at the following conclusions. The turmoil I battled with was due to the fact that some key people of my community opposed my decision. Being the people pleaser that I was, their disapproval was hard to accept. But then a friend reminded me that when I seek to please God, there are always going to be those who would not agree with me. His advice was a game changer for me.

That whole ordeal taught me some much needed and powerful life lessons. God tenderly brought me to the understanding that I was to seek to please Him, not people. By choosing to please God, not man, in this trial, I learned that I could hear from God and act on His guidance whether others agreed with me or not. God grew my faith and I became wiser for having walked this difficult path.

Because of the light God shed onto my life in that instance, I found that my gratitude to God over rode any bitterness I may have felt towards those who had talked against me. It was a lesson I needed to learn, so it took a hard thing to teach it to me. The best reward was that I harbored no ill feelings toward those who had disagreed with me.

Years later, the ones that had instigated the event, came to me asking forgiveness. With assurance, I told them I had already forgiven them. I shared with them how God had put me in a classroom that taught me how to stand on my own two feet spiritually and receive a word from God. That pleasing Him was far more important and necessary than pleasing others.

Being a people pleaser entrapped me. But this ordeal set me free of that. I have thanked God time and again for opening my eyes to my weakness back then.

I have found that it is often those hard things we experience in life that teach us the greatest lessons. And for that we can always be thankful.

Thanks for my trials!

Nov23

th-10

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:8

In All circumstances?

How can we be thankful for the not so good circumstances?

   I have come to understand the answer to this question quite vividly as I was counseled by God during the writing of Fiery Darts.

   For too many years, my walk with God was characterized by more defeat than victory. Then, just a few years ago, I began to experience a gradual, yet powerful, transformation in my faith walk. As God continued to shed light on the darkness, which had plagued my walk with Him, I began to identify the source of my defeat. It became glaringly clear that negative thinking was at the core of my problematic walk with God. p. 14  FD 3rd edition

The Results?

   I learned to identify the great civil war (p.44 FD) that was going on within me. Eventually, I became more skilled in  distinguishing between the thoughts originating from my flesh, my natural bent, and those which were being whispered to me by God.      

     Finally, the attacks from my enemy, which were designed for my defeat, began to fall short of their mark. With every trial, I gained more strength, as long as I saw it from God’s perspective and rejected the fiery darts!

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 NIV

The reason I can be thankful for the trials?

    Some trials I continue to wrestle with! But now instead of despair, I know joy. Instead of defeat, I know victory! It’s God’s battle plan for our trials. 

to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3, NIV

Unleashing the power of thankfulness!

Jan20

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV 

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Ephesians 5:20 ESV 

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Philippians 4:6 ESV 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Colossians 4:2 ESV

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

In reading the above verses identify the common charge?

Yep, giving thanks!

When are we to give thanks?

Always, in every circumstance, for everything, in everything, in prayer!

   But ask yourself this question. When do I give God thanks? Is it at the dinner table, or when God has given me something that I need or especially when He gives me something I want? 

Okay, now ask yourself another question. Do I thank God when I am facing problems?

   In all likelihood the last thing we feel like doing when we are burdened with problems is to offer God thanks. Instead, we want to be free of them and will immediately ask God to deliver us from them. And sometimes in our own strength we will design a solution which often just trades one set of problems for another. The weight of our burden only grows heavier!

   Often when problems beset us we just can’t seem to focus on anything but those problems. Our thoughts are consumed with the problems. We think about them all the time because we are analyzing them and trying to figure out what we should do. We bend to the temptation to voice our thoughts about the problem to those who will listen. Therefore just like Peter, because our eyes are fixed on  the storm, we begin sinking. (Matthew 14:29)

Ah, but isn’t that just what a fiery dart is designed to do?

Yet, when we decide to take our focus off the problems and begin thanking God in those problems  the power to turn evil into good is unleashed.

   Therefore, think about the problems you are now facing. Would you like for God to turn those problems into something that produces good in your life? Of course you do, but beware Satan would much rather have you sink.