My Thankful Friend,
Just as I am sure you do, I find myself often expressing my thanks to our Lord throughout day. Those moments of sudden realization of how fortunate one is; one is feeling good, has just been able to help someone, and countless other little incidents. You know how it will dawn on you as you finished something and its better than you hoped. You’ve reached a good decision, or things are seemingly going very well. It can be anything! And you just utter, in my case, out loud, “Thank you Lord!” You do this in spite of, or perhaps because the entire world seems to be sleep walking off a cliff. Like a thousand Lemmings, which were once believed would panic at times and run off cliffs into the sea. Thankfully they have more common sense, but we humans appears to have lost that attribute, and even our global leadership seems ensnared by irrationality, or just plain nonsense. So it does at times feel chaotic, unreasonable, down right ridiculous, but still our lives continue and we see another glorious sunrise.
Despite this chaos, the stupidity arising out of Washington, London, Ottawa, Brussels,[1] and yes Kiev and Moscow, despite sky rocketing inflation, gas prices, and crime, despite plummeting stock markets, incomes, and confidence I’m still thankful, because of what my Lord means to, and for me. There is no doubt in my mind that our Lord reigns.
By a word God created all that is. His word called out Abram to be the father of the faithful. With a word Mary would be with child. And by just a word He will end all that Satan is trying to do, and bring this all to an end, in victory (Rev.19:15,21). And I am also assured by His word that we are hid in Him, that we will never be separated from His love, that one day I will see Him face to face and know fully all that puzzles me now, and that on that Day, I too, will be awarded that crown of righteousness (2 Ti.4:8). And it is not that I am actually that righteous, but God has made me so through the atoning work of His Son on Calvary. And that is something not just to be thankful for, but to shout from the housetop.
I’m persuaded that Christians have always been able to feel this way. Not those who are uncertain in their faith. But those who truly believe in His redemptive work, and that He rose bodily from that tomb. It was why Christians fled as the Roman Legions of Titus descending upon the ancient city of Jerusalem. They fled into the mountains as they saw that abomination, just as our Lord warned in His prophecy (Mt.24:15-20). It is why Christians were ready as Nero “fiddled” and Rome burned, and this demented Emperor blamed Christians for the catastrophe. It was a dark time for Roman Christians, but they had been warned of sudden destruction, travail, and with no escape. But like them “we are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise us…”(1 Th.5:3-4).
It doesn’t matter what is happening, what the crisis, God sees it all and we are safe in His hand. Our God cares for us His people. He may encourage us to be strengthened, so as to overcome. He may tell us to “come out of her my people…Babylon’s…judgment has come“(Rev.18:4,10). Or He may enable us to hold fast, so that He is able to carry us through the dark days to the light on the other side. Whatever we are faced with; be it lies, threats, being cancelled, deleted on face book, or ridiculed as terrorist; still “we are more than conquerors through Him…”(Rm.8:37) It then doesn’t matter what may confront us, surround us, or seems to be coming for us.
So we are to be thankful, all the time, even when it’s difficult, maybe especially when it’s difficult. Sometimes being thankful may be an effort. Yet, He is more than present, He dwells with us! He is more than a still small voice, He has promised to give us the words to speak! He is more than our savior, He is our righteousness for eternity. There is nothing to fear, and always more than enough reason to be thankful.
We are His, always His, thankfully,
Thomas Randolf Wyatt
