Joy in Thanksgiving

This devotional is taken from a small devotional book by Lydia Brownback called "Joy".
What a great reminder to me this morning.

"Do all things without grumbling or questioning" Philippians 2:14

Paul's command might not seem too difficult until we consider what "all things" actually entails.  Have you grumbled about the weather lately?  How about a sore throat?  We might feel convicted when we grumble about the little daily inconveniences, but we feel justified in complaining when the major crises hit.  What else can we do when our husband loses his job or we get the news that our child has serious learning disabilities?  But Paul meant what he said.  "All things" means all things, because there is nothing - absolutely nothing- that touches our lives that somehow slipped through the cracks of his providential ordering.

When we grumble about the weather, we are arguing against God's ordering of creation.  When we complain about illness or job loss or whatever it may be, we are declaring, whether we realize it or not, that God isn't handling our affairs very well.  Complaining is actually a form of pride, which makes sense when we recognize its rebellious undertones..

There just isn't any need to complain, because whatever circumstances God sends- rain and snow, sickness, and trouble of various kinds- he sends in order to bless us.  But it is impossible to keep an eye out for God's blessings while harboring a complaining spirit.  Grumbling about hard things blocks our expectation of good things, and if we are not looking for the good things, we may fail to see them when they come.  That's part of why thankfulness is so important.  Offering thanks to God, no matter what is going on in our lives, is a way of acknowledging that he knows exactly what he is doing and that we can trust him.

The antidote to the complaining spirit is a thankful spirit.  "Give thanks in all circumstances, " Paul wrote, " for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess. 5:18).  Sometimes thankfulness is a choice we make rather than a feeling we have.  We can choose to give thanks even when we don't feel like it. God is pleased when he sees our willingness to give thanks because it demonstrates our trust in his goodness and our willingness to let him run the show.  If we practice thanksgiving before we know it we will actually find ourselves feeling thankful, which al always accompanied by joy.  God delights to bless a thankful heart.