Not thankful? A slippery slope

Devotional readings this week focus on God’s ability to use all things for my good because all things are His servants. This is not just about His sovereignty but about His ability to know what is needed to transform my life. Sometimes it is a jolting event. Sometimes it is the unkindness of others or a scheme of Satan. Sometimes it is the shock of seeing my own sinfulness. Yet He says…

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22)

No matter what is going on, the Holy Spirit makes it possible to rejoice. The Word of God says I can rejoice in trials (James 1:2-4) for they produce steadfastness maturity, a good thing. It also says that weakness is an opportunity for the grace of God to make His power perfect. Such is the mystery of godliness. The only things that can ruin this amazing working of God is quenching the Spirit by refusing His joy, lack of prayer, and being unthankful. In fact, lack of thankfulness is a slippery slope that leads to darkness and sin.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:18–21)

Another thought from today’s reading is about God using other people to test my faith by their actions. The reading says, “I may not be able to give thanks for an unkind friend, but I can give thanks for the patience and meekness brought to me through the instrumentality of this friend’s unkindness.”

I can also give thanks if my reaction is impatience and annoyance, even anger — because God is showing me the stuff I need to confess, sin in my heart that He will cleanse as I bring it to Him. (1 John 1:9) This changes my attitude about contrary people. As instruments that serve God, I must give them the right receptivity, and if not, be thankful that God is using them to refine me. I want to obey this:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

When the events of life or the actions of people are uncomfortable or even evil, learning that God is still in charge is helpful toward understanding that this too can be used by God for my good:

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is… (Ephesians 5:13–21)

That passage goes on to add a variety of things that are the will of the Lord. One is to be filled with the Spirit. Then it ends with “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Complaining and wanting trials to go away is far easier than being thankful or looking for God’s hand in the trials, but because Jesus is my Savior and because He loves me, thankfulness for all things is wisdom.

PRAY: Lord, I look back at the worst trials and sorrows in life and see now how You have used them to keep my focus on You — and to help me see that having my eyes on You is important to being transformed into Your likeness — and being transformed is the will of God for me. How foolish I would be to drop thankfulness and refuse to accept that You use all things for my good.

Devotional time is with God not with a check list

My pre-salvation habit was a good habit and a not so good habit. Because new Christians struggle to form the habit of daily reading the Bible, my habit was helpful because I was already doing it. I copied my mother for many years without understanding anything I read. I kept a journal and marked RMB in the upper corner along with SMP, hating to miss daily reading and prayer that left that corner blank.

However, it was a negative habit in that I can slip too easily into letting these spiritual disciplines a duty, a box to check, a file-card system like Tozer describes rather than a personal experience with God. On those occasions I can feel guilty for breaking my habit when I should feel guilty that I allowed my quiet time to become a ritual.

Imagine the joylessness of taking verses like these . . .

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22)

And making them look like this . . .

o  I rejoiced all day

o  I prayed nonstop today

o  I gave thanks for everything

o  I’m not quenching the Spirit (even though making a list like this does just that)

o  I loved the preaching I heard today and fully tested it

o  I held on to the good that I heard today

o  I kept myself from all evil

The biggest error is revealed by all those “I’s” — making this a self-righteous spirituality instead of walking in faith, living by grace, filled with and motivated by the Spirit of God. A list of ‘rules’ keeps even the sincerest believer from hearing God’s words, words that are personal and for the needs of the moment.

Tozer warns that “inevitably the calendar crowds out the Spirit and the face of the clock hides the face of God.” He hits the problem dead on. Living a file-card Christianity produces a hit or miss prayer life and a hit or miss ministry. Instead of consistent freedom in following God’s leading, obedience gets mixed up with habits and rules, robbing me of that freedom and spontaneity that Jesus Christ died so I could enjoy.

^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, in the past few weeks, my heart condition has robbed me of almost all ambition. Some days, I want to sleep all day. But You are using this situation to show me how much effort I give to ‘be a good Christian’ instead of simply trusting You and resting in Your presence. As Tozer says, it is my privilege to live so fully in You that I never get out of the experience of Your Presence for one moment, that my whole life becomes a prayer, my thoughts become mental prayers, my deeds become prayers in action and even sleep may be unconscious prayer.

NOTE: September 27 is pacemaker day, but it will not be hooked up for a few weeks after that. The offending electrical impulses in my heart are in the two upper chambers meaning that they must be zapped to put them out of commission so the lower chambers and the pacemaker can take over. This zapping (ablation) cannot be done until the pacemaker is in and healed. Both are done without anesthetic, just local freezing. As shared above, God uses all things to teach my ornery heart to pay attention to Him.