Thanksgiving is fast upon us and this has been on my mind for a while:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of Christ Jesus for you.”
“Give thanks in all circumstances.”
“No! I don’t want to. I’m not thankful. I’m mad. I’m suffering. I have no job and bills to pay. My child is sick. My parent is suffering. My dreams are shattered.”
“No! I don’t want to. I don’t feel thankful for anything. How can I be thankful if I do it because I’m supposed to?”
I’m not even sure we’re aware of the ways we resist giving thanks, or of all the things going on in our lives and ourselves that are actually not things we should be thankful for. But that’s the tiny little word in this verse from 1 Thessalonians 5 that makes all the difference.
It is Christ’s will for us that we give thanks in all circumstances, not for all circumstances. That’s a big difference. Are the kids who walked away with only scratches when they were riding in a truck bed that hit a utility pole grateful for the crash? Were their parents? No. of course not. They were thankful that they walked away after riding loose in a truck bed and having a smash-up. They were glad they were alive. Glad in the circumstances, not for them.
This gets harder, though. People around Madison, and all over our area (and the country) are losing their jobs. They are not glad for this fact. There’s no “yippee, I’m laid off,” or “par-tay – my company closed!” Nah. No one’s glad for that, especially if feeding themselves and their families depend on it. Or if having a roof over their heads depends on it.
A 19 year old football player at the University of Arkansas was found unconscious in his dorm room last night, an hour after seeming just fine playing video games with his friends. He was dead by midnight. It is heresy, an evil thought, to be thankful for such a thing.
So we take to heart God’s will for us to give thanks in all circumstances because our circumstances don’t change who God is, what God has done, and what God is doing. Our circumstances don’t change God’s love for us. Our circumstances don’t change our affirmation that God is the Lord of the universe and the one who whispers love deep in our souls. Our circumstances don’t change God’s work to bring about a new creation, and a new heaven and a new earth. If we rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in (not for) all circumstances we leave ourselves open to God’s work in us and in the world.
“Do not quench the Spirit.”
If we close ourselves off by refusing to rejoice at the very least in God’s love, we turn our backs on the Spirit who may be working joy in us. If we do not pray without ceasing, we may be closing our hearts and souls and minds to the insights and glimpses God has for us. If we do not give thanks in all circumstances, we could be refusing to see just where the Spirit is and what the Spirit is doing. “Do not quench the Spirit” comes right after we read that it is Christ’s will that we give thanks in all circumstances.
“Do not quench the Spirit.” As hard as it is – and it is hard – to open ourselves to God when we ache and suffer, when we are confused and alone, leaving all possible pathways open for the Spirit means God’s freedom, grace, and joy in Christ always have a place with us.
It’s one of the fun things about festive meals with family and friends around Thanksgiving. Oddly, we might find ourselves crammed around a table, bumping elbows, but there will be space for laughter, conversations, and joy. And if we are not in on a festive gathering, we may find ourselves even in loneliness having time to ponder and time simply to give thanks to God, just in our being.
Blessings to you all,
Michelle

