Giving Thanks, a Christmas Adventure – Day Thirteen

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3: 15

Giving thanks, whatever you do. That last line is what brought us to this study, remember?  This requirement of expressing joy God-ward brings me straight back to the original challenge, again. What am I to do if there is no joy in the moment and I’m supposed to “count it all joy?”

Honestly, it’s all I can do to contain myself. I’ve so been looking forward to sharing this part of our study with you. The answer to that question?  We begin by asking God to help us remember not to look for that strength in ourselves but to turn to Him and ask for help. Jesus lives in us to do precisely that. Recognizing our need for Him is our greatest strength.   There is an unlimited source of wisdom and power to count it all joy available to us for the asking!

I was already on this personal gratitude march when Paul and James ganged up on me and imprinted their admonitions on my heart to be grateful for EVERYTHING.

In all things give thanks, but this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, concerning you. I Thessalonians 5.18

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith (proved genuineness) produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1:2

Who can understand this instruction that we are to be rejoicing in trials and tribulations? A trial is defined as a test of faith, patience, or stamina through subjection to suffering or temptation, a source of vexation or annoyance, a tryout or experiment to test quality, value, or usefulness.

Tell me, have you ever heard the enemy whisper that you can’t speak to trials because you haven’t suffered major catastrophes, you haven’t been tortured for your faith, lost a child, or overcome beat brain cancer, etc.? I have, but the definition of trial includes things that face us every day. If we can’t count these smaller things as joy, we’ll never learn how to count the greater pains as joy. I want to be practiced up! You?

Consider this passage from Luke and then I want to share the belly laugh I had with the Father as I was running down cross references on rejoicing in tribulations. In speaking of the last days, Jesus said, “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So, make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.  But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name.  “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.  Luke 21:12-18

Wait just a minute…Did you notice? In the same breadth Jesus says we “may be put to death” but “not a hair of our head will perish.” That sure sounds like perishing to me. Do you suppose that Father looks at things a little differently than we do? Clearly, He and Jesus takes the long view of our lives. Their investment is for eternity and they’re always offering us an opportunity to see the way they see.

I believe one thing that keeps us from rejoicing in tribulation is because we’re slow to understand that it is in the vexing, trying times where we have an amazing opportunity to experience God, not in the circumstance, but in us— if we’ll trust Him.  We want others to see God in us, but God wants us to see His power working in us, first! This is what is available to us in the trial.

II Cor 13.5 Examine yourselves to see whether or not you’re in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?  The message says it this way: Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out.

I contend that we are supposed to try our faith, to test ourselves, but we keep testing God. I think this is what keeps us from “counting it all joy”—because instead of testing our faith, we instead on keeping God on trial in our lives. We pray for someone to be healed with our biblical fingers crossed as if God is probation. Will He come thru? Or will He not? Newsflash: Christ has already been on trial. (Father forgive me for keeping You on trial in me. It is my faith that needs to be tested, not your Faithfulness!)

Friends, to have the right attitude in trials, we must see the advantage of the trial, and we’ll only see the advantage by asking God for wisdom during it to help us bear up and rejoice. It’s all Him. We are needy.  The end result of asking Him to show Himself strong in us, to be with us in the trial, to let us see and hear Him in the trial, this is the blessing of mature faith, the crown of life.

So, how do we test our faith? How do I prove this hope? Come back tomorrow. It’s our last day together and we’re saving the best for last.

Hugs, Shellie

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