Thanksgiving: The Secret to Survival (Philippians 4:4-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Ephesians 5:19-20, Colossians 3:17)
Thanksgiving in Canada is to a “day of general thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.” When we were on the prairies, this took on a whole new meaning to me. We came to know a little more what was meant by planting season and harvesting season and we could even tell you what kind of combine you were driving based on the colour of the vehicle. Thanksgiving for the harvest was a real part of life.
Today, in the context of what is going on in the world and in the Army, I want to spend a little bit of time chatting about the power of a spirit of thanksgiving in our lives. It really is something that God can use to get us through even the darkest of times. This is what a spirit of thanksgiving looks like:
- Philippians 4:4-7: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
- Ephesians 5:19-20: Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Colossians 3:17: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
For those of us who were here last week, I shared a lot of the anguish and personal struggles that I am still having relating to Covid-19, Vaccine Mandates, The Salvation Army, my responsibilities to God, the Army, and the people under my care. There is more as well.
The previous few weeks have been tough and I know that the past year and a bit has been tough on a lot of people. Orange shirt day the other week was very significant. We marked the truth of a very real tragedy.
The pandemic is not seemingly getting any better. It is still here. People are getting sick. People are dying. People are being discriminated against. People are being persecuted. Community is being destroyed. People are being laid off.
There are people who may need to be laid off, put on leave or even fired here. Employees and volunteers are not around. I can’t even hire the people I need to hire now. In some cases people can’t afford to work. I know of one person who is not working because in order to be able to afford dental, he needs to be on social assistance. He is being removed from being able to contribute to the work force, to society as an employee. I know others who simply because they are unable to be vaccinated are being removed from community in that same very way.
The debt that our country has acquired during this plague is beyond what can be even understood in terms of trying to pay it back – and the basic needs we will have to go without in the future if that is ever going to happen is terrifying.
Violence is really bad both in word and in deed in our world. Social media hate is choking so many people. And hearing from people who live in the US, I get the impression that the violence is so out-of-control down there that it is dangerous to even be outside in the evenings in many of their metropolitan areas.
The opioid crisis in BC and Port Alberni is beyond comprehension. I can go on. I won’t. We all know these are scary times. The question is, in these scary, difficult times, how can we get through it? How can we survive?
In these scary times God, through Paul’s letters offers us some ways we can get through this. Paul talks about a spirit of thanksgiving and rejoicing. He offers us this council about how to get through tough times. He says, among other things:
- Rejoice always,
- pray continually,
- Let your gentleness be evident to all
- give thanks in all circumstances.
REJOICE ALWAYS
The first secret to surviving difficult times is to rejoice always. If we can find something to rejoice in each day and if we can focus upon that rather than on all the things pulling us down, our spirit we be lifted up and we can get through it.
PRAY CONTINUALLY
Another vital key to survival is prayer. Prayer is extremely important. I can’t tell you the number of people I have had the chance to pray with in this last little while: people who are missing loved ones; people who have lost loved ones; people who are concerned about serious health issues - and then there are those who have come to me in much anguish and tears due to discrimination and persecution for their beliefs and -of course, as we are in a pandemic – there are those as well who are afraid for their lives. I thank all those who have been praying for me as well. With all the things that I have had on my heart and mind, I certainly need it. Prayer is vital to survival. As we pray together, we are joined to God with one another in a bond as strength. Let us not stop praying for one another together.
BE GENTLE
That brings us to another very important part of living with a spirit of thanksgiving that is key to surviving our struggles in community and even in the Church and that is to be gentle with one another. This can be difficult. By common consent, we are a divided people right now. Name your issue, people are polarized. People are upset. People are angry. People are afraid. Watch the different news channels, scroll through social media. Society is divided. The church is divided. Even clergy and Officers in our own Salvation Army are divided.
I have prayed many times with my colleagues over the previous couple of weeks – more than ever before. Because of this, relating to one issue (Covid-19 and vaccine mandates) in particular, one Officer has recently arranged the opportunity for all of the Officers in BC to come together in a prayer zoom meeting this upcoming week. I hope we do. Prayer is so important – but there have already been some apparently snarky, seemingly self-righteous responses to even that invitation to prayer. This is tragedy. Officers, spiritual leaders we need to be gentle with one another; congregation members, we need to be gentle with one another; staff members, we need to be gentle with one another; family members, we need to be gentle with one another; friends and social media friends, we need to be gentle with one another if we hope to survive. We need to be gentle with one another. We need to be thankful for one another. We need to be thankful for what God is doing through each and everyone of us.
BE THANKFUL
The spirit of thankfulness. This spirit of Thanksgiving is so important to our very survival. When everything around us seems to be crashing down and everyone seems to be unkind and violent in thought, word, and deed; it is imperative that we find what is right and thank God for that! If we only focus on all the trials and tribulations around us, we will be swallowed up by them. If we just look at the storms of life, we will miss the lifeboat. Mark my words, my friends, the chaos of our world is a turbulent as a storm at sea. You or I may even have been tossed overboard and maybe we are gasping for air trying to survive. If we just focus on the waves of all that is going wrong that is all we will see.
If we, however quickly, scan the horizon looking for the things God is sending us that can pull us through, we will be okay. Look around: see the miracles that are happening on a daily basis; see the people God is using for good in the world; notice how He is using you and others to help people; It is only when we look for and focus on the good things that God as provided for our salvation that we can grab a hold of them. This is what will create in us a thankful heart and a joyful spirit, this is what will make it so that we don’t need to be anxious in anything.
On this Thanksgiving Day in Canada, I would like to encourage us to look around for the things we can be thankful for, the ways that God is seeing us through the storm and thank Him for them. For if we can thank the Lord for what He is doing in those beside us while the whole world seems to be in chaos, if we can thank the Lord for the daily miracles that we see, if we can thank the Lord for each other and what the Lord is doing through each and every one of us than we might just get through this.
Let us pray
BENEDICTION:
Philippians 4:4-7: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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.
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