Have you caught yourself complaining about 2020 yet?
I have.
It’s become commonplace to rip on this year. “That’s so 2020,” is a phrase you’ll hear more and more often. While I recognize the tremendous pain and suffering this year has caused so many people, and in no way want to minimize that, many are jumping on the bandwagon as a way to complain about their inconveniences.
Whether this year has just been annoying or has caused a tremendous loss, this week of Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect back on the year and try to filter our attitudes and emotions through a biblical lens.
How are we, as believers, supposed to respond?
Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 speaks directly into our proper response:
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Isn’t this verse just a slap in the face?
Give thanks for 2020?
No. That’s not what he says. There is an important distinction in this verse. It doesn’t say give thanks FOR all circumstances. It says to give thanks IN them. God does not call us to be thankful for the pain or evil, but He does want us to give thanks in them!
How can we do that?
The future gives us reason for thankfulness now
The greek word for “give thanks” is eucharisteō. It’s derived from the root word “charis,” which means grace. It’s the same word Jesus used in the upper room when he took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples.
The concept of giving thanks is married to God’s provision and reminder of grace in Jesus.
It makes sense. Without Jesus, we are lost, separated from God, and without hope in the world. But in Christ, we have supreme hope because of His grace and salvation. When we recognize that, there is no circumstance outside of thanksgiving.
Further, there is no situation outside the sovereign control of God and we know God is working all things together for good.
There is a line at the end of the Jesus StoryBook Bible (yes, the kids’ Bible…it’s incredible! I read it to my kids almost every night) that encapsulates that idea. Sally Lloyd-Jones sums up the end of Revelation saying “he knew, in some mysterious way that would be hard to explain, that everything was going to be more wonderful for once having been so sad.”
Even in pain and suffering and hardship God is sanctifying and growing His people and ultimately getting glory from it. For that, and IN that, we can give thanks.
Thankfulness for privilege
One of my favorite books out there is a book called “The Finishers” by Roger Hershey. It’s a book about the Great Commission but he has a powerful chapter in there where Roger describes losing his son who was serving in the military in Afghanistan.
He talked about the pain of that moment but how God taught him to have a “privilege mentality.” He could have complained, questioned God, or gotten angry that God would allow this evil to happen. Or, he could recognize the privilege of experiencing life with his son for the 20+ years he was on this earth.
He recognized his life was all by the grace of God — eucharisteō. He was living 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
Is this easier said than done? Well, of course. But is it the biblical response? Yes. Does God make it possible? Absolutely. We are commanded to give God thanks IN every circumstance because we know God’s ultimate sovereignty and goodness.
Let’s obey this command and be thankful today.
Put it into Practice:
This is an exercise you can do to evaluate your attitude toward your circumstances and how to turn them towards the Lord. My wife has used this with some women and hope it could help you or your disciples. It’s based on Habakkuk’s attitude in Habakkuk 3:17-19:
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
Habakkuk 3:17-19
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
She has them personalize the verse to their own context by filling in the blanks with their current circumstances that are controlling their mind.
Though ______________________
And there are ______________________
Though __________________________
And I can’t _____________________________
Though I’m lacking ________________________
And missing __________________________
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
You can give thanks because of your Savior, Jesus Christ!
Maybe this exercise can be beneficial for you or someone you know this week. What a great reminder of the perspective of thankfulness that we are called to have as believers.
Even in 2020.
