Really? You want to bring up “hopelessness” when Thanksgiving week is coming up?
What’s the deal?
OK, originally I was writing a blog on hopelessness because it was on my heart — so many situations were popping up around me of people struggling with despair. And I wanted to give “hope” in those places.
Henry Blackaby, my ‘go-to’ guy for clarity, had an excellent way of putting it: “God never calls us to do anything without faithfully keeping His Word and enabling us to do it.”
And I loved his illustration story – the children of Israel reaching the Red Sea as they fled from their slavery in Egypt. The water was a barrier and the murderous Egyptian army was racing to overtake them!
But God proved his faithfulness – he parted the Red Sea (totally unheard of and unbelievable thing to do) so that they could cross on dry (yes, dry!) land. And just to make certain the point (he was saving them from the Egyptian army) the sea came crashing down on the soldiers as they entered the path the Israelites had taken. Point made – and timely – and no uncertainty.
How many times I would have loved a Red Sea parting experience – “dig me out of this hole, Lord, please”! But that was not what came my way – instead, it seemed that what I thought God wanted to accomplish was not happening. What I was trying to do was not well- received, or my children or family were rebelling, or I was receiving criticism for my actions.
I thought I was obeying but my circumstances were bleak. I very quickly was losing hope. Which led me to question if I had heard my orders correctly, it raised my defensiveness to how “unfair” the world was (don’t get me started on how well I do the ‘pity party’), and I realized I was questioning whether God was around and paying attention.
Here comes Henry Blackaby to remind me – TRUST In the Character of God !
Blackaby declared that it is His nature to be faithful, and he used the testimony of His people throughout the ages as the reminder – “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread” (Psalm 37:25).
Just a quick aside – if you are like me, you think “uh-oh, not so sure I qualify as ‘righteous’”. But guess what, as a Christian, you are made ‘righteous’ by Christ dying for your sins. Whew!
This verse above was a Psalm “of David” he quoted, so I had to kick back and relax a bit – David knew of and experienced a ton of waiting while horrible circumstances occurred (like when David was playing his harp for him, King Saul tried to pin him with a spear but David eluded him and Saul drove the spear into the wall).
Multiple other murderous attempts on David’s life kept him constantly in negative circumstances – yet the prophet Samuel told Saul “…the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people….” –describing David. Of course, it was years, and many harrowing experiences later, before David actually became king.
OK, I realized the missing “factor” that was causing me angst and driving me down the “hopeless” path – timing. I was letting the fact that the Red Sea didn’t part right at the moment I thought it should dictate my moving into despair.
But God’s plan is one of faithfulness to His purpose and His nature and that includes timing – it is perfect. And I always choose to request the timing be “NOW”!
Two things stood out to me in Blackaby’s devotional on this – 1) No one has ever experienced unfaithfulness on God’s part! And 2) upon reflection, someday, we will realize what God has done and praise Him for His absolute faithfulness to us.
Regardless of how bleak our present circumstances are, we are not to lose hope. Got it!
So on to “thankfulness” – it has a role that is not tied to circumstances, either! Really?
Yep – back to Blackaby who defined “thankfulness”. It is a conscious response that comes from looking beyond our blessings to their source. Ok, if you are like me (Eeyore), you are saying “What blessings? I am still waiting….”
Let’s re-examine that – if you are a Christian (as I am) then you have been 1) forgiven, 2) saved from death, and 3) adopted as God’s children….and there are no better reasons for a grateful heart.
I loved Blackaby’s illustration story on this point, too – the ten lepers who encountered Jesus and desperately implored Him to “show them mercy”.
Lepers – don’t see many of those today – but think about their situation in Biblical times and circumstances: forbidden to enter their own villages, live in their own homes, work in their own jobs or even to touch their own children.
So just imagine how they felt when they were healed by Jesus! But watch this – His response to their plea was to send them to the priest. As they obeyed (oh, yeah, that’s a lesson in itself), they were healed.
But Blackaby draws out the major lesson – only one of them as he realized he was healed turned around and came back to thank the One who had given him back his life. He considered the “source” of that blessing.
Scoot back to the 3 blessings of a Christian – major, big-time items, right? We, too, have been healed and made whole by the Savior, free to enjoy the abundant life the Savior has graciously given us. And it fits my beloved timing of “NOW”! Instantly.
So what gets in my way and trips me into stepping over to the road of despair? I think it is looking at worldly circumstances all around me, in my daily life, and getting focused there. I forget that the abundant life God freed me to live is not dependent on worldly circumstances – it is dependent on my remembering the “source” of my blessing. I need to stop, turn around and thank my Redeemer.
Want a verse to memorize for that? So do I, because I know the next worldly circumstance attack is just around the corner…. Here it is:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
So neither hopelessness nor thankfulness should be tied to our circumstances in life – but impacted only by our position as Christians blessed by our Savior.
May you have a blessed Thanksgiving week (and year)!
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