Thankfulness in Adversity

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Ephesians 1:16

I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.

(CSB)

In the United States, the last Thursday of November is Thanksgiving Day.  It is a day commercially equated with eating turkey and ham, gathering together with family, and football.  For Christians like myself it is a time to pause and give thanks for all that God has provided in my life.  While it is good to take time one day a year to pause and give thanks, a heart of thanksgiving is something believers in Christ should have every day of the year.

In a commercial sense however, Christmas, which occurs the following month overshadows Thanksgiving Day.  This is because the commercial value of Christmas to brick and mortar retailers who must compete with online retailers requires they put out Christmas displays months before Christmas.  For this reason, brick and mortar stores must prominently display Christmas decorations throughout stores, making Thanksgiving Day displays difficult to find. 

In his prayer for spiritual insight, the Apostle Paul expresses thanks and love for the saints in Ephesus (Ephesians 1:15-19).  It is easy to read this and believe this is something anyone pastoring a group of believers should do.  However, we must remember that Paul is writing this while imprisoned in a dingy Roman jail.  Paul is showing a thankful heart in the middle of adversity.  We too can have thankful hearts in adversity by,

1)      Keeping our eyes on the prize (Philippians 3:14) – Paul must have been a sports fan for he makes many references to athletic achievement in his writings (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).  We do not live in a Godly world and as such must endure constant temptation, suffering, and at times persecution.  As someone that has run 10K races, I am familiar with the rigors of training, and the wall that occurs at some point during the race when it seems you cannot continue.  The only way for a runner to get through this is to keep his or her eye on the prize.  The same is true in our walk with Christ. 

2)      Resting in a secure relationship with Christ (Hebrews 6:13-20) – Since all have sinned (Romans 3:23), we depend upon the grace of God through Christ for assurance of salvation.  However, it would be difficult to remain thankful if we lived under the threat of losing it all due to some sin we may commit.  Part of the armor of God is the helmet of salvation which protects our thoughts from doubting our relationship with Christ (Ephesians 6:17).  It would be cruel of God to leave us in this world and then remove our helmet of salvation because we make a mistake.  Thankfully we have the knowledge and security of our salvation as an anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:19)

3)      Experiencing God and not just knowing Him (Ephesians 1:18) – Paul speaks of seeing with our hearts.  This is obviously a figurative reference for our eyes are on our head and not our heart.  Paul’s figurative reference means we must not just know of God mentally but have a heart experience that establishes a relationship with Him.  Unlike in the time of Paul, we have the ability today of watching a sporting event on TV instead of going to the game.  However, when we go to a game we experience a higher level of immersion in the experience.  In similar fashion we must immerse ourselves in experiencing God by having a heart, and not just head relationship with our creator through Christ.

4)      Knowing our present troubles have a purpose and are only temporary (2 Corinthians 4:18) – Thankfulness stems from the focus of ones heart.  If we focus our hearts on the troubles, it is difficult to be thankful.  However, when we focus on the unseen, Jesus Christ, and the truths in God’s Word, we achieve a heavenly perspective from which we can be thankful. 

Adversity will come in everyone’s life but by keeping our eyes on the prize of eternity with Christ, resting in the security of our salvation, experiencing God in our hearts, and knowing that the struggle is only temporary, we can be thankful.  I pray that those reading this will practice thanksgiving every day of their lives for we have much to be thankful for.  I also pray that the troubles of the world will strengthen, and not discourage us to press on towards the prize.