11.13.2012

Being Thankful Even When It Hurts

As we approach this season of thankfulness, I find myself in awe of God's goodness to me. I have so much to be thankful for in my life. There's my wonderful husband, my healthy, strong sons, God and his Word, friends and family, food, shelter and so on. I truly am blessed. 


But at this time, it is evident that people are hurting. Just in my small circle of relationships, people are experiencing pain, loss and hardship. How do we then respond to those hurting?

To the sweet friend who is struggling with an uncontrollable son...

To the girl who recently lost her job and is now experiencing financial burdens...

To the women who are unable to conceive and so desperately want a child...

To the man who is living paycheck to paycheck, trying to pay child support while only seeing his children 4 days a month...

To the dear friend who will encounter the anniversary date of losing her baby girl this month 7 years ago...

What do we say then?

God is still on the throne.
Read Revelation 4. If we as believers lose sight of Christ on the throne, life becomes very sketchy and it almost becomes more about us than Him. Remember that thrones are places of authority, power and majesty. I love this reminder from Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church... 
"When you see Jesus seated on his Throne, that’s why he is here; he’s a King who’s ruling over all of creation, which is his Kingdom. He is a judge who renders us all as sinful and guilty, he’s also a Priest who gets off of his Throne and dies for our sin to forgive us and mediates between us and the Father. And he’s a great warrior through whose death on the cross, Satan, sin and death have been conquered and we have victory."
So through tumultuous times we can be assured that our God is infinitely in control.

We should model our outlook on thankfulness by Christ's example.
Let's look at His example in Luke 22...
"Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, 'Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come'. He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.'"
Jesus said these words just a short time before he knowingly would be mocked, beaten, and eventually murdered. And yet being aware of all of this, he still gave thanks. This does not undermine the hard circumstances we may face in life, but how reassuring is it to know that since Jesus found it in him to give thanks at such a horrible time, we certainly can too. 
 "There was majesty in the misery... glory in the shame".   --- Spurgeon
As Christians we should be familiar with suffering. 
I find so much comfort in knowing since Christ suffered while on this earth I will too being his child (Romans 8:17). If I am not being molded, pressed in some way in this life maybe I should evaluate my standing as a child of God. 

If I were to look back on my life, I can see those times of suffering as beneficial to my growth as a believer.

But I remember questioning... 

why the Lord did not let me get accepted into a certain college... 
why I had such a colicky baby... 
why my husband didn't get that certain job 8 years ago... 

But honestly, I can say to each of those circumstances, I am so thankful for those times of hardship. I stopped relying on myself and had to lean solely on the Lord to pull me through. Looking back, I am thankful for how He used those times to show me...

I found my sweet husband at the other college I ended up at.
I developed a maturity, patience and compassion for my hurting baby I never had in me before.
I realized it wasn't the right time and that rejection would later show to be a huge blessing in disguise.

Even in your pain, still find it in you to praise Him. 
You may not have the words to utter how you feel. You may not be able to even pray a thought-out prayer. But you can praise Him still in your pain. 

Because Christ suffered too.
Because Christ was thankful in His pain. 
Because He is still on the throne. 

"The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord."



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