Dr. Ron Sumners
November 23, 2003
Our text for today says, “Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
This verse doesn’t say, “Give thanks for all circumstances,” but rather, “in all circumstances.” No matter how terrible the circumstances of life may be, with God’s help, there will always be that for which we can be thankful!
Two school teachers who hadn’t seen each other in several years met at a convention and they began filling each other in on what had been happening in their lives since the last time they had been together.
One teacher said, “I got married two years ago.” “Oh, that’s good,” replied her friend.
“Well, no, not really,” the first one said. “My husband is twice as old as I am.” “Oh, that’s bad,” her friend replied.
“Well, not really,” the first one said, “because he is a millionaire several times over.” “Oh, that’s good,” her friend replied.
“Well, not really,” she said, “because he turned out to be mean and he won’t give me any money at all.” “Oh, that’s bad,” her friend replied.
“Well, not really,” she said. “He did build us a million dollar house.” “Oh, that’s good,” her friend replied.
“Well, no, not really,” she said. “It burned down last month.”
“Oh, that’s bad,” her friend replied.
“Well, no, not really,” she said. “He was in the house!”
Thanksgiving week is finally here. You can tell by the Christmas decorations at the malls and department stores. This week, children and grandchildren will bring home from school, turkeys that they have cut out of construction paper with little feathers pasted onto them and pilgrims with funny bonnets and hats and shoes.
During this week our president will issue the annual Thanksgiving proclamation. And, our very secular government, that almost chokes every time it says the word “God,” will suddenly project an air of piety and encourage us all to be thankful for at least this one day of the year.
Thanksgiving is an unusual holiday because it combines God and government and society. And, it is considered perfectly acceptable for everyone, regardless of religion, to be thankful on this day.
While I appreciate the attention on gratitude, I am concerned. When something becomes universally acceptable, it has usually been watered down or changed from its original purpose. That has certainly happened to Christmas and Easter in our society.
So, I encourage you this morning, to take three safeguards to ensure you haven’t watered down Thanksgiving.
The first is: Make sure that you are thankful to the right somebody!
If we are going to say, “Thank you” to somebody, let’s make sure that it is the right somebody!
Harriet Martineau was an atheist. One morning she and a friend stepped out into the glories of a beautiful fall morning. As she saw the brilliant sun peeking through the haze, and the frost on the meadow, and the brightly colored leaves drifting to the ground, she was filled with the beauty and burst forth with, “I am so thankful. I am just so grateful for it all.” Her friend, who was a Christian, said, “Grateful to whom, my dear?”
That is a good question at Thanksgiving. If you are grateful, if you are really thankful, then the question is, “grateful to whom?”
A lady pulled into the drive-in teller at the bank. The teller was inside facing the hot sun and had pulled down the large window shade, making it impossible for her customers to see her through the window. She could see out but they could not see in.
As the lady pulled up to the window, the teller pushed the button and the drawer moved out to meet her. She put in her deposit and the drawer withdrew. A few moments later the drawer came back out again with her deposit receipt and the money she had requested. She looked at the window, but unable to see anyone inside, she said, “I suppose you are totally automated, but I just feel I ought to say ‘thank you’ anyway.”
The comic strip character Ziggy has an ATM that does talk, and it nags him too. He walked up to his machine to get some money and it started lecturing him, calling him a spendthrift and telling him that he was spending too much money. Then, when he came back the next week, it refused to give him any money saying, “I told you you’re spending too much. If you don’t watch out you are going to go bankrupt. So, you are not getting any money!”
Can you imagine poor, old Ziggy’s frustration? By the way, I had two nicknames when I was the Campus Minister at Auburn years ago: Barney Rubble and Ziggy. I can’t imagine why!
King David wasn’t frustrated. He knew the answer to the question of gratefulness. If anyone ever had cause to lift his voice in thanksgiving to God, David was the man. He was a shepherd boy who became the hero of a nation – a hunted fugitive who became its king – a condemned sinner who became a “man after God’s own heart.”
Is it any wonder that the 103rd Psalm begins with these words of thanksgiving? “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
When you decide to be thankful, be sure that you, like King David, are thankful to the right somebody.
A second safeguard is this: Make sure you thank God for the right reasons!
If you were to draw up a Thanksgiving list of things for which you are thankful, what would you put on that list? I know some of the things that I would include.
I am thankful that I enjoy the blessings of living in the United States of America. I have visited other countries and I am so thankful that I am a citizen of this great country. I echo the words of Lee Greenwood’s song: “So I’ll proudly stand up next to you and defend her still today, for there ain’t no doubt that I love this land, God bless the USA!”
Despite aches and pains and physical illnesses I endure, I am thankful for physical blessings. Someone said, “Count your fingers and toes, and if your mind is sharp enough to count that high, then thank God for your mind too. Thank Him that you can see, and that you have the ability to move from one place to another.” I am so grateful to God to still be alive. In April of 2002, I was told that I was supposed to be dead. Although death holds no special dread for me, I am glad I’m not! I thank God for life and strength every day.
I thank Him for supplying me with everything that I need. I have had a difficult time distinguishing between my needs and wants, but God has never failed to supply what I need.
There is not a family here today that could not get by with less than we have. We have far more than simple needs dictate. We have been blessed in order to be a blessing!
My list and yours could go on and on but let’s look at the list that David made in the 103rd Psalm in verse 3, and see how it applies to each of us.
David begins by thanking God for being a God who forgives all our sins. David knew what we should be thankful for! He doesn’t begin by thanking God for material blessing or that he was king. He doesn’t mention that Israel had become the strongest nation in the world during his reign. No, first of all, he thanked God for forgiving his sin!
That is the most precious gift you have ever been given! God, through Jesus Christ, has provided the way for our sins to be forgiven. All we have to do is accept what God offers.
Then he says that God “heals all our diseases.” David didn’t know anything about germs or infection. All he knew is that when the people of Israel obeyed God’s laws, they didn’t have the plagues that lay waste the surrounding nations. The dietary laws spelled out in the law were for the protection of the people. And when troubles did come and they called upon God for help, He was always there to help them.
We may not be able to understand everything that happens in life, but I believe that God is still the Great Physician and that He knows my needs far better than I do. And whether my need is psychological, physical or spiritual, God can bring healing.
Then David says that God “redeems our life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.” God certainly did that for King David and He is still doing that today for you and me.
Then David says that God “satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.” I love that idea! We live in a culture that is looking for the fountain of youth even as Ponce de Leon did centuries ago. Many still go to Florida to seek it just as he did! I stand in front of the mirror and realize that the years take their toll, but in my heart, I am younger than I have ever been. My spirit soars like an eagle, and so does many of yours. I don’t want to be younger; I want to serve God better.
Maybe Paul explained it best when he said that we are wasting away on the outside, but inside we are being renewed day by day.
A third safeguard is: Even though bad things happen to good people, we can still praise God.
There are many good people who suffer terrible things. Simply look at our weekly prayer list and you get a small sampling of that truth. Surgery, disease, terminal illness, death and financial difficulties touch all of us at some time.
Job said, “Every man is born to trouble just as the sparks fly upward.” Yet, even though bad things happen to good people, we can still give praise and thanksgiving to God. Why? Because the great difference between God’s people and all the rest is that we do not suffer alone. “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”
We are not the only ones struggling. We are not the only ones hurting. The people who never darken the door of the church are hurting too. The people who never lift a voice in praise or thanksgiving to God are hurting, too. The great difference is that when we hurt God is there to help us through those difficult moments of life.
It has been my experience that when our children or grandchildren are hurting, we most eloquently express our love and concern for them; we scoop them up in our arms. Or if they are too big for that, we try to communicate verbally our love for them. We want them to know that we hurt too, because they do. And we try to do everything we can to take away the hurt. Those are precious moments for us.
And some of my greatest moments with God have come when I hurt the most, when I felt the most empty, when I cried from the depths of my soul, to find that he was there, always faithful, always keeping His promise.
This morning, if you are going through the trials of life without the help of Jesus, then I want you to know that you don’t have to continue down that lonesome road any longer. He is available.
I offer you an opportunity for the forgiveness of your sins through the precious blood of Jesus. I hope that on top of your list of things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving is the forgiveness of your sins and salvation through Jesus Christ.
Know to whom you are thankful!
Know for what you are thankful!
Be thankful for everything!
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