Lately God has been teaching me a lot, and I wanted to get all the thoughts swirling around in my head down in an organized fashion. Here is what came of that:
For
starters, I wrote the following on the closed Facebook Group “Building Up” back
in mid-November 2013.
“I have been thinking a lot about
contentment lately. I am thinking that it must have to do a lot with thankfulness.
I am wondering if one chooses to be thankful to God in every circumstance, then
contentment would follow.
I have also been thinking about
Paul saying he "learned" to be content (Phi. 4:11). How does one
learn something? My husband & I were discussing this. Some ideas we came up with
are: one learns how to do something by continually trying (also known as
practice), or by being taught by someone who already understands what you are
learning about, or as a process of perhaps trial & error. Neither of us
figured a person could learn something in an instant, or that it
"stuck" forever in a moment of trust or a moment of decision; that
learning is something more gradual.
So I am curious as to how Paul
learned contentment, and I would like to ask him if he learned it by choosing
to be thankful to God in every situation, or perhaps he learned it by choosing
to trust God that He knew what He was doing in every situation and had
everything under His control.”
Paul goes
on to say he has learned the secret of facing both good times and bad (vs.
12). And then in verse 13 he says “I can
do all things though Him who strengthens me.”
No doubt it was God alone who gave Paul the strength to be content. Perhaps Paul’s secret to the ability to face
every situation with contentment was God Himself being Paul’s strength – and
placing no trust in his own ability.
There is
no doubt, though, that we are instructed throughout Scripture to continually be
thankful to God. And why would God give
us an instruction that would not cause contentment if followed? Not necessarily a life of ease as the world
sees it, but an inner contentment that circumstances cannot sway.
“I will bless the Lord at all
times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the
humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the
Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!” Psalm 34:1-3
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord,
all the earth! Serve the Lord with
gladness! Come into His presence with
singing! Know that the Lord, He is
God! It is He who made us, and we are
His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His
courts with praise! Give thanks to Him;
bless His name! For the Lord is good;
His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all
generations.” Psalm 100
“…giving thanks always and for
everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Ephesians 5:20
“Through Him [Jesus] then let us
continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips
that acknowledge His name.” Hebrews
13:15
These are
just a fraction of the verses that tell us to praise God!
I would
like to make a side note on the last verse, Hebrews 13:15. Note that we are to acknowledge God’s
name. It can seem very noble to decide
to have a “positive attitude” or to try and look for the good in
everything. But unbelievers try this all
the time. We are to be different. We are to acknowledge God in our praise. After all, without Him we would have nothing
to be thankful for!
The
following verses really confirm to me that thankfulness to God is one of the
things that brings about contentment and peace in a Believer.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again
I will say, rejoice. Let your
reasonableness be known to everyone. The
Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is
just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there
is any excellence, if there is anything
worthy of praise, think about these things.
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice
these things, and the God of peace will
be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9
Now I
would like to look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
“Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus for you.”
I
recently read a book lent to me by my brother’s father-in-law, a man I am
really thankful to God for placing in my life.
It is titled His Banner Over Us Is
Love by Muriel Rae. It is the story
of a missionary couple to China in the 1930’s.
In it Muriel shares the thoughts her husband, Bill, had on 1
Thessalonians 5:18.
“In giving of thanks to God, you
are acknowledging His perfect will, and when you can do that, you are prepared
to withstand any obstacle to Christ’s cause, because you will view every
circumstance from God’s vantage point.
Remember it is “in” the circumstance, not “for” it that you are to give
thanks. But always take into account,
too, that God permits the circumstance, and it will not always be a “sacrifice”
of praise. It will become a spontaneous
outpouring of your being to God. Then
you will enter on a new plateau of your Christian experience…The secret of
service lies in an unreserved commitment to Christ, letting the beauty of Him
shine through your life. And
thanksgiving is the Royal Road to Victory.
Acknowledge God’s sovereign will, and yours will become one with His.”
Much of
this book had an impact on me, but this particularly did. The only point I am a little uncertain on is
if we are to praise God for everything
or not, because although it does not indicate so in these verses, it does in
Ephesians 5:20 (see above). But I am not
sure how major of a point that is or not.
As Bill Rae says, when we give thanks to God and in so doing acknowledge
His perfect will, our praise will become a spontaneous outpouring to Him,
perhaps even for, and definitely in, the circumstances He allows.
I find it
hard to put this clearly, so I hope you can follow, but it seems God has lately
been showing me that my desire needs to be for His will to be done, and not for
my will to be done – but even more than that, that in desiring His will, my
will will become His will. If that was
not clear, perhaps I should just use Bill’s last sentence: “Acknowledge
God’s sovereign will, and yours will become one with His.” And I believe the way to do this is
summed up best in his first sentence, “In
giving of thanks to God, you are acknowledging His perfect will…”
