I so enjoy the weeks and days leading up to Thanksgiving Day. Social media is flooded with posts titled things like 7 days of thankfulness, day 3 or 30 days of thanks, day 24, and so on. Even in the midst of political and economic turmoil, sickness and loss, i love how we can set aside potential complaints and think about the things we’re thankful for.
In Philippians 4:8, believers are instructed how to direct their thoughts.
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.
It’s such simple advice, and it’s meant to direct our thoughts all year-round. But sometimes that’s pretty hard, isn’t it? I find that even in my prayers, I can fail at this.
Me: Lord you’ve seen these terrible things . . .
the Lord: whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable……think on these things….
Me: but Lord! the terrible things!
the Lord: ….pure, holy, of good report….
Me: ok, but Lord, the corruption and the disease and ugly things of this world!!!
the Lord: child, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things
Me: but Lord, the things!
We can find it so hard to follow simple instructions when the world around us seems to be tumbling head over heels out of control. And it can seem so unrealistic and polly-anna if we think this scripture is instructing us to keep our heads in the sand and pretend bad things aren’t happening. I don’t believe it is. I believe the scripture, these instructions, begin with the assumption that bad things are happening in the world around us. Bad things happening around us is not a new circumstance. In fact, if i have my Bible history correct, the writer of the letter to the Philippians, Paul, was in prison when he wrote it.
Prison.
This person, a believer in Jesus, who had been repeatedly beaten, repeatedly imprisoned, repeatedly flogged for his faith, while sitting in prison, writes to encourage his brothers and sisters who are outside of prison, who are free, and reminds them to place their thoughts on what is good. Of course, he knew that they saw ugly and evil around them. And of course, every person must address the day-to-day circumstances that are not pure, holy, or of good report, but our thoughts . . . our thoughts must be on those things which remind us to praise, those things which remind us to be thankful!
The thing about thankfulness, and thankfulness in a bad situation, besides all of the positive endorphins and other things you can read about on the internet, is that it places you in a place of trust before God. When the world seems to be falling down around you, it requires trust for you to turn to God in thanksgiving. It requires an exercise of your faith to turn to God and bring thanks, first, before worry. It says to God and to your own heart, that you are choosing to believe that God is good, that His mercies endure forever, that He knows what He is doing when we are in complete loss. It reminds our mind that when the ground beneath our feet is crumbling, the Lord is faithful to place us on his shoulders and hold us above the chaos, above the things we cannot control, and allow us to see the world from His perspective.