“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God…”
Giving thanks is not just accepting situation blindly. In fact it is a wise decision that we need to make in order to continually living in His will. We were talking about giving thanks as a will of God and when we give thanks, we will be able to acknowledge God’s faithfulness and embrace his promises in our lives. (Part 1)
Here, I would like to direct you to the heart of “giving thanks.” It starts with a paradox: If we give thanks then we will not COMPLAIN. This is because we cannot give thanks and complain at the same time.
Consider the Israelites: when they were under oppression, they cried out to God. When God brought them out of Egypt, they complained and murmured against Moses and God. When they were cornered in front of the Red Sea with the Egyptian army behind them, they murmured and complaint to Moses. Moses, a young leader cried out to God and he was instructed to touch the Red Sea and it parted. That was the greatest miracle ever happened in human history. They were walking right into a live aquarium on dry land, right in the middle of the Red Sea. But before long, they forgot all about the miracles and the powerful God. Even when God provided “manna” and water, clouds in the morning and pillars of fire at night, they still complaints. They were called “the stiff-necked” people.
Well, we all know the price they have to pay for their faithless attitude: the entire generation died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb before they entered the Promised-land.
Complaining and unappreciative attitude are very costly. It could cost us our happiness, our relationship with the others and most of all our relationship with God. When we complain, we forgot to consider faith in Him. It robs us of the joy and peace. Instead of rejoicing, we are bound with revenge and pride. “Pride goes before destruction” Prov 16:18; yet how many of us are seeing pride and revenge go hand in hand. We are not happy with how the other person has taken advantage of the situation, so we revenge. We revenge because we cannot accept to be the underdog.
Instead, giving thanks will release us of such pressures to revenge. I have new visitors to church from another church. I always have the courtesy to ask where they are from and possibly ask why they wanted to attend our church. If they are here because they have shifted to our area, they are most welcomed. But they are some who came because they have problems with the previous church’s pastors/members. Well, I have no problem with that because not all people could get along with everyone, right?
But I will get pretty agitated if they start to ramp on the previous church’s weaknesses especially on the leadership of the church. Frankly speaking this is what happens in my mind: the more he/she goes on with the complaints, the more my mind will swirl into the scenario “what if after attending our church for a while and decided to leave. Will they also complain about us to the next church?” Because complaining is a HABIT- a very bad habit indeed. It will make the other party looks so ugly and they hardly realized that by complaining they are making themselves look real ugly.
If you don’t believe me, the next time when someone is complaining about something, look at their faces carefully. You won’t see any smile but frowning, tight face, brows squeezed together and all the veins surfacing which make them look really unappealing.
So the next time, before you complain, look into the mirror and look yourself carefully. If you can train yourself to look really pretty even when complaining, then you can do so. Otherwise, my advice is, don’t get those wrinkles work extra hard on your face.
My suggestion is this: CHOOSE TO GIVE THANKS. Why “choose”? Because to be happy is a choice! We make choices in life that will affect us – and this is one that’s worth making it right.
So take a deep breath and at the count of three, smile to the first person you meet and I’m pretty sure you will receive a smile in return. Have a ‘smiley’ day!!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
In Everything Give Thanks (Part 1)
Picture this: You were struggling to get all your date lines met; your teenage children are trying to stretch your patience; your parents were screaming for attention and protested silently; the church meetings non-stop; events, activities, counseling sessions, important dates etc… and before you knew it, when your mind is full of these do’s and more do’s, you found yourself knocked a motorcyclist and right before your eyes, you saw him flying over to the left side of the vehicle and the motorbike slammed into the opposite direction. Suddenly the mind blank and there were shouting and mourning. The man obviously was groaning in pain and the motorbike was smashed badly.
After some checking, the man insisted that he was okay. He said that he knew me and my husband who is the pastor and that he has come to some of our church major event many times. I was shocked, amazed and then touched by his consideration and concern and instead of me trying to get him to see the doctor, he was trying to comfort me in return. He insisted that he was alright and didn’t need any medical treatment.
Now, can we still give thanks to God? Can we say that this is the will of God? The bible says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” (I Thess 5:18).
Let’s do a little study on this one sentence:
ἐν παντὶ εὐχαριστεῖτε: τοῦτο γὰρ θέλημα θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς ὑμᾶς.
In all/every (thing), you give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus in you. (concerning/for)
εὐχαριστεῖτε is in Present Active Imperative. Imperative is something that we should take note of and an important matter to the writer. The whole word means, “You all (a plural) give thanks”.
Paul was exhorting the Christian to give thanks in everything (ἐν παντὶ). Sounds pretty simple! He gave the reason why we should give thanks, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus in us.” God’s will is embedded in Christ who lives in us too. So we summarize, it simply means, we should give thanks under all circumstances; under all situation, for God is pleased because this is his will already stated in His Son, Christ Jesus who lives in us. (paraphrased)
From this paragraph, indeed it is Paul’s intention to ask the believers to continuously giving thanks to God, willingly and with emphasis that this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. So putting this into the situation earlier, we shall giving thanks for all these happenings. I began to see the logic if we see it on the other side.
In giving thanks, we should first of all be APPRECIATIVE for all those people around us and be thankful for all the happenings. You may say, “How ignorant! Because life isn’t that simple! How could we still give thanks when we go through calamities like losing our loved ones; experiencing injustice, abused, unloved, accused and etc.” Yes, I believe such challenges are part of life.
My question is, “Will you live better by complaining and storming over spilled milk? What do you get if you complain and stomping your feet in anger?” And so what if you actually get even with your enemy, what do you get? Another enemy, that’s all! Or will the situation actually changed when you cry your liver out and will it yield to your wish when you spent sleepless nights staring into the ceiling? Let me guess… answer is “NO”.
But if we choose to be thankful to God for things we do not understand, for all the injustices and accusations or even abusive behavior we received, we may end up learning a precious lesson that will save us from insanity. How many times we heard of sicknesses related to unforgiveness and bitterness. They are like gangrene and before you knew it, had spread deep into your bones.
When we look at situations with a positive attitude and knowing that though bad things happen to us, we still have our God who promised to look after us. He will not leave us nor forsake us. His promises are sure. “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Num 23:19)
We must learn to trust God that he cares and he knows and when we put our faith in him, we will find solace and peace and joy that the situation cannot give us. So let’s start by giving thanks to the present situation that you are in right now and see God’s peace and joy fill your heart J
(see you at part 2 next week)
After some checking, the man insisted that he was okay. He said that he knew me and my husband who is the pastor and that he has come to some of our church major event many times. I was shocked, amazed and then touched by his consideration and concern and instead of me trying to get him to see the doctor, he was trying to comfort me in return. He insisted that he was alright and didn’t need any medical treatment.
Now, can we still give thanks to God? Can we say that this is the will of God? The bible says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” (I Thess 5:18).
Let’s do a little study on this one sentence:
ἐν παντὶ εὐχαριστεῖτε: τοῦτο γὰρ θέλημα θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς ὑμᾶς.
In all/every (thing), you give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus in you. (concerning/for)
εὐχαριστεῖτε is in Present Active Imperative. Imperative is something that we should take note of and an important matter to the writer. The whole word means, “You all (a plural) give thanks”.
Paul was exhorting the Christian to give thanks in everything (ἐν παντὶ). Sounds pretty simple! He gave the reason why we should give thanks, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus in us.” God’s will is embedded in Christ who lives in us too. So we summarize, it simply means, we should give thanks under all circumstances; under all situation, for God is pleased because this is his will already stated in His Son, Christ Jesus who lives in us. (paraphrased)
From this paragraph, indeed it is Paul’s intention to ask the believers to continuously giving thanks to God, willingly and with emphasis that this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. So putting this into the situation earlier, we shall giving thanks for all these happenings. I began to see the logic if we see it on the other side.
In giving thanks, we should first of all be APPRECIATIVE for all those people around us and be thankful for all the happenings. You may say, “How ignorant! Because life isn’t that simple! How could we still give thanks when we go through calamities like losing our loved ones; experiencing injustice, abused, unloved, accused and etc.” Yes, I believe such challenges are part of life.
My question is, “Will you live better by complaining and storming over spilled milk? What do you get if you complain and stomping your feet in anger?” And so what if you actually get even with your enemy, what do you get? Another enemy, that’s all! Or will the situation actually changed when you cry your liver out and will it yield to your wish when you spent sleepless nights staring into the ceiling? Let me guess… answer is “NO”.
But if we choose to be thankful to God for things we do not understand, for all the injustices and accusations or even abusive behavior we received, we may end up learning a precious lesson that will save us from insanity. How many times we heard of sicknesses related to unforgiveness and bitterness. They are like gangrene and before you knew it, had spread deep into your bones.
When we look at situations with a positive attitude and knowing that though bad things happen to us, we still have our God who promised to look after us. He will not leave us nor forsake us. His promises are sure. “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Num 23:19)
We must learn to trust God that he cares and he knows and when we put our faith in him, we will find solace and peace and joy that the situation cannot give us. So let’s start by giving thanks to the present situation that you are in right now and see God’s peace and joy fill your heart J
(see you at part 2 next week)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Dear Ian
Dear Ian,
I don’t know if writing to you mean anything to you but I guess if talking may not make any sense, maybe writing will.
Growing up is never fun like it used to be but we don’t have a choice. In one hand, we want to grow up fast so that we could have more freedom; on the other hand, there is this small boy within that cries out for attention that you may lose out as an adult. Juggling between the two will definitely cause some struggles in you which results that sometimes you will feel frustrated over things that you want but didn’t get it and things that you don’t want to do but you are required to do.
So son, what is the balance? The best solution is: MAKE WISE DECISIONS ! By this I mean, when you make wise decisions on your own, you don’t have to listen to all those nagging tones from us; when you make wise decisions on your own, you will enjoy doing it more rather than taking orders from the adults.
For example: tidying room – do you feel better doing it yourself without anyone telling you what to do OR you like it when we ask you to clean up the room? Take another example: Does it feel better when you decide to study on your own instead of us nagging you to study all the time? Which of these will make you feel better? To be asked what to do or to decide to do it on your own?
Another example: you know that watching certain shows are not edifying (building up your spiritual life). Though they may seem harmless and a comedy but the content is definitely out. So what should we do? I could say a thousand times, “Don’t watch it!”. You will still do because you are not convinced that you shouldn’t watch it BUT let’s say one day you realized that these show will not bring any profit to you or that music is not suitable and that habits brings no glory to God and you yourself, on your own decided NOT to do any of these, I tell you son, you will feel GOOD inside because you have make a wise decision for God and for yourself.
So that’s why I said, “Don’t wait till someone ask you to do something because it will not bring any meaning in your life. When you have decided on your own, then it will mean something to you.”
So don’t wait to be asked what to do, son. A mature adult (BTW not every adult is mature) must learn how to make wise decision that will bring meaning to his life. I am waiting for the day when you will have that strength to make your own decision that will not only benefit yourself but also to glorify God and also bring gladness in our hearts.
So I will not be with you for a week. But I will remember you in prayer that you will understand what I am talking here. I’m not going to Cambodia because it’s a duty call but because I enjoy doing it. Not only I have made a decision to go but I also rise to the next level, that is: I have actually enjoyed doing it.
Ultimately son, when you continue to make that wise decision, you will realize that it’s no longer a decision; it becomes a way of life (一种生活方式) which will guide you when you face difficult challenges later on.
So son, make good your life… how you want your future to be, start now! Your future starts today! Whatever your decision is today will affect your tomorrow and your future.
Love you so much…
mum
I don’t know if writing to you mean anything to you but I guess if talking may not make any sense, maybe writing will.
Growing up is never fun like it used to be but we don’t have a choice. In one hand, we want to grow up fast so that we could have more freedom; on the other hand, there is this small boy within that cries out for attention that you may lose out as an adult. Juggling between the two will definitely cause some struggles in you which results that sometimes you will feel frustrated over things that you want but didn’t get it and things that you don’t want to do but you are required to do.
So son, what is the balance? The best solution is: MAKE WISE DECISIONS ! By this I mean, when you make wise decisions on your own, you don’t have to listen to all those nagging tones from us; when you make wise decisions on your own, you will enjoy doing it more rather than taking orders from the adults.
For example: tidying room – do you feel better doing it yourself without anyone telling you what to do OR you like it when we ask you to clean up the room? Take another example: Does it feel better when you decide to study on your own instead of us nagging you to study all the time? Which of these will make you feel better? To be asked what to do or to decide to do it on your own?
Another example: you know that watching certain shows are not edifying (building up your spiritual life). Though they may seem harmless and a comedy but the content is definitely out. So what should we do? I could say a thousand times, “Don’t watch it!”. You will still do because you are not convinced that you shouldn’t watch it BUT let’s say one day you realized that these show will not bring any profit to you or that music is not suitable and that habits brings no glory to God and you yourself, on your own decided NOT to do any of these, I tell you son, you will feel GOOD inside because you have make a wise decision for God and for yourself.
So that’s why I said, “Don’t wait till someone ask you to do something because it will not bring any meaning in your life. When you have decided on your own, then it will mean something to you.”
So don’t wait to be asked what to do, son. A mature adult (BTW not every adult is mature) must learn how to make wise decision that will bring meaning to his life. I am waiting for the day when you will have that strength to make your own decision that will not only benefit yourself but also to glorify God and also bring gladness in our hearts.
So I will not be with you for a week. But I will remember you in prayer that you will understand what I am talking here. I’m not going to Cambodia because it’s a duty call but because I enjoy doing it. Not only I have made a decision to go but I also rise to the next level, that is: I have actually enjoyed doing it.
Ultimately son, when you continue to make that wise decision, you will realize that it’s no longer a decision; it becomes a way of life (一种生活方式) which will guide you when you face difficult challenges later on.
So son, make good your life… how you want your future to be, start now! Your future starts today! Whatever your decision is today will affect your tomorrow and your future.
Love you so much…
mum
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