Every now and then, we might find ourselves experiencing a trial in life. It’s one thing to have a bad day or a bad week. But it weighs on us much differently if that week turns into a month. Or than month turns into a year. Or that year turns into a season. Most of us, under the weight of life, will at one point or another, find ourselves on the verge of giving up or breaking down. We’re human. One thing I recently discovered for myself (and I find it to be true for others), is that when we deny or ignore the impact of our human experience for the sake of ‘being strong’, we do ourselves more damage than good. So when we choose not to deal with our situations, eventually, those situations will start to deal with us. You can actually face those things that you’re dealing with in life and still have peace. I often pray, “Lord, I pray that you change my circumstances. But if You choose not to, I pray that You change me.” We have to understand that God won’t always give our circumstances permission to change. So that leaves us with one of two options: Reject the sovereignty of God and be forever discontented. Or accept God’s sovereignty and learn contentment.
I believe that in order to have contentment in the midst of trials, it starts in the place of thanksgiving. Being troubled on every side, but managing to give sincere thanks to God, is a sign of spiritual maturity. This kind of maturity doesn’t just happen. It takes time. You become thankful on purpose.
1 Thessalonian 5:18
In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
IN everything? Yes—IN everything. Not to be mistaken for “FOR everything”. Even so, being thankful IN everything can be quite challenging at times for even the most faithful child of God. As challenging as it may be, God still has an expectation of us to do so. This challenges many of us for many reasons. Being thankful IN everything, but not necessarily FOR everything is an exercise of the will. But it doesn’t just happen for us. We actually have to be intentional in this endeavor. The natural man experiences life and becomes content because of external stimuli. This means that he’s only in a good place in his spirit when desirable things happen for him and around him. But the spiritual man can experience life and still maintain a spirit of contentment in spite of external stimuli. He may not be happy about all the things that happen to him and around him. But he doesn’t allow those things to rob him of his peace. Peace isn’t the absence of trouble, but it is the presence of God. He recognizes that in spite of the undesirable events in his life, God is still with him.
You may have a situation. But the situation doesn’t have to have you.
Did you know that just because you’re in a fire doesn’t mean that you have to get burned? The Hebrew boys in the book of Daniel teach us this. The boys didn’t deny the situation they were in. They didn’t ignore the seriousness of their human experience. They didn’t even deny that the fire was hot. No matter how much the king threatened them, they became more and more intentional in speaking words that celebrated the power God had to deliver them if He chose to. Had they allowed their minds to be consumed by the threats of the king or the flames of the fire, they may have not even noticed Jesus right there in the fire with them. They would not have been able to experience that peace that surpassed all understanding considering the situation they were in. This is what the right perspective at the right time can enable us to do. We see Jesus in the fire with us when others only see us in the fire. The boys were thankful because they were able to focus of the fact that God was able to deliver them even if He chose not to. I’m sure the boys weren’t thanking God for the fire. But I’m sure that they were thanking God for His presence in the midst of the fire.
The fact that God instructs us to be thankful in everything is actually God’s way of helping us help ourselves. Being thankful IN all things allow us to re-center our minds on the goodness of God. And when we’re able to think on the goodness of God, we become aware of the presence of God. And being in His presence is where we have peace. Many times, in distress, we will cry out to the Lord begging Him to show up and intervene in our situations. But God is waiting for us to realize that He’s already there. The fires of life make us fearful and forgetful. And whenever we become overwhelmed and led by fear, we cannot operate in faith. Fear is not of God. The enemy knows this. This is why he turns up the heat in our lives as often as our fear fuels it. Being thankful in the fire won’t necessarily stop the fires from burning. But it can stop us from being consumed by the fires.
*Tressa Jo
BeyondSeeLevel 