Thankful?
We all know we are to be thankful at Thanksgiving. Thankful for all of the many blessings we have. And praise the LORD, I think most of us have many reasons to be thankful! But I was thinking a lot about the sovereignty of God the other day, and I realized something. I realized that although I recognize God’s sovereignty, I am definitely not always thankful for it.
What does the sovereignty of God mean? According to the online Merriam Webster website, sovereign means “one that exercises supreme authority.” That means that everything that has happened to us, or is happening or will happen has been sifted through God’s hands and allowed. All of it. When we praise God for His sovereignty and say we are thankful to Him, do we understand what we’re saying? Do we really know what we’re praising Him for?
Reality
I think we can all relate to feeling disappointed, angry, frustrated, annoyed, sad (and a myriad of other feelings) about things that either have happened or are happening to us. And then I listen to the lives of other believers, and I am often humbled (and frightened if I’m being honest) to hear what the LORD has allowed to happen in their lives.
Joni Eaerickson Tada is one unbelievably strong woman of God. It’s amazing how so much has happened to her, and yet, she smiles and praises the LORD. Rather than life easing as she has gotten older, it seems to have only gotten more difficult for her. I heard her speak at one of Liberty’s convocations, and I was just floored at her sincere faith. Her love of God only has increased, despite all of the inflictions of pain and suffering she’s had to endure.
Of course, there’s the spunky Bethany Hamilton. After getting her arm literally bitten off by a shark, she persevered. When asked if she would change anything that has happened to her, she shockingly said no. That’s because she’s been able to embrace so many more people with the love of God with her one arm than she ever was able to with her two.
Compelled is an incredible podcast that I highly recommend. It is well worth a listen, especially if you want a sobering, beautiful testimony of the faithfulness of God. A recent interview on the podcast really struck me. A woman who was brutally r@ped found peace despite what happened to her. She was so transparent as she shared her story. It took years for her to get to the place of peace, but looking back, she was able to trust God and see His loving hand of sovereignty.
And what has the LORD asked of YOU?
I can go on and on. When I hear these stories, I think to myself, “I just couldn’t do that.” I can not imagine how difficult it must have been for them in each of their situations. And you know what I think the LORD has said to me? “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
The LORD has called each one of us to a unique life. We are all guaranteed to suffer in one way or another. Some of us will suffer greatly. While others of us have to deal with the day to day suffering of just being a human on this earth, living with other sinful humans.
But what it boils down to is will we trust the LORD and be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18) no matter what happens? Will we trust that the LORD is not only sovereign, but He is good? And that He can turn any situation for our good, and His glory?
A choice
If He can turn the betrayal and murder of an innocent man, His own Son Who was hung on a cross for the sins of all of humanity, to the greatest event in human history, I think He’s proved we can trust Him. And despite the situation, we can choose to be thankful.
Now I don’t think it’s that we have to be thankful for the specific difficulties of life. I don’t think Joni Eareckson Tada is thankful for the actual breaking of her neck. Rather, I’m certain she’s thankful for how the LORD has used all of it for His glory and her ultimate good. Just like all of the people I referred to above.
I’m not sure if anyone can be thankful for the death of a child, or the suffering of a parent, or the horrors or war (for just a few examples). They are all fruit of sin. But we can embrace the peace of God and trust Him no matter the situation because we know that He is good. He is sovereign. The LORD will turn our mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11). He is an expert on making things beautiful from ashes (Isaiah 61:3).
He is worthy
Praise God. He is good, all the time. I hope we can all praise Him and be thankful not only this coming Thursday, but every day the LORD allows us to be on this earth.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I pray you all have a wonderful day of eating great food and celebrating the day with family and friends.
