Thoughtless Or Thoughtful

/ thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Thoughtless

Every now and then, we all make foolish mistakes in some dumbed-down version of auto-pilot. From making a bad move in chess, to lurching out into tight traffic, clicking too fast through purchase options on the internet, to flying off the handle and saying inaccurate and inflammatory comments to someone we love, we engage our muscles and mouth before the brain is in gear.

And we quickly experience the fruits of not thinking clearly or not even thinking at all. Loss. Regret. The longing to back up time and insert wisdom. What the Welsh call Hiraeth – a deep, mournful longing for a state of being that is lost and can never be returned to.

Choosing to do something quickly without forethought often brings regret. I know; I have experienced this. Afterwards there seems to be plenty of time to think about my decision, but I acted rashly and didn’t think it through.

In contrast, how wonderful it is when a choice has been made carefully and thoughtfully.

Both of these men were noting each other’s positions and likely strategies. Careful consideration helped them to evaluate their options, and after deliberate thought, they made their moves.

Thoughtful

What does thoughtful (full of thought) mean?

Deep in thought, being kind to others, making careful plans

Merriam-Webster

It could make the difference between winning or losing at chess, at relationships, at life, in eternity. 😉

Thinking All About It

It is estimated that a person has at least 6,000 thoughts per day. That’s pretty crazy! Most often, we are unaware of all that we think on. It happens so quickly. This “divergent thinking” is free-flowing, spontaneous, diffused, and web-like. One thought leads to another, and on and on it goes. Unfortunately, some people drive with this kind of thinking.

When we engage in profitable things … in our studies, crafts, prayer, finances, and work projects, we need to use “convergent thinking,” harnessed and focused thinking. This is the thinking needed for being th(i)nkful. Could we harness our thoughts for a bit? Rope in at least a few of them to meditate on gratitude? Could we, with God’s help, choose to foster thought-fullness and consideration?

In Norwegian, the word omtenksom means thoughtful.

It’s fun to pick apart that word. Om means “about,” and tenksom means “thoughtful.” So you are pulling together and then pondering all your thoughts about something.

It can be grueling work. It makes me think about how difficult it can be to choose to think thanks. It requires that you deliberately pull together the points of light amidst the darkness, or the gems amid the mud in your life, and think about those things.

As human problem-solvers, we naturally tend to pull together and mull over our hard things, our failings, our hurts, and everything that is going wrong. But God’s delight is in the counterintuitive – our pulling together what we can think thanks about.

I love our little Norwegian sunroom that we are fixing up. I especially love having dear friends over for chai tea and Swedish Bullar.

Friends were discussing my Th(i)nkful book being published, and Kristin asked me what thoughtful was in Norwegian. Kristin has Norwegian heritage and is an artist in Scandinavian rosemaling. It was so fun to meditate on that translation.

When I described how Norwegian people usually behave, I mentioned that they need time to think about things. They are not rash. They do not act without consideration.

Kristin then said, “They are th(i)nkful,” with a smirk. That was a connection I had not considered. But th(i)nkful is more than just full of thoughts, it is choosing to pull together and list the profitable, wonderful, meaningful, God’s-fingerprint things, and then to think thanks about those things.

Thoughtful Thinking

What if we were to foster thoughtfulness in our lives? We can’t be in a hurry because it takes time. But could we not at least subdue a few of those 6,000 daily thoughts and do some convergent, focused thinking to list the things we can be thankful for, and express that to God or others?

It normally starts with stopping. It starts with just taking a minute to think about things that you are thankful for, but normally it propels you into more thoughtfulness. Try it today!

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” — G.K. Chesterton

A Little Thanksgiving

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What Produces Thanks?

Did you realize that when you grow in the knowledge of God, it should produce thanksgiving in your heart?

In the morning when I pray for my family, I go through Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-12.

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

It has become evident to me that, as we increase in the knowledge of our precious Lord and seek to do His will, gratitude bubbles up within our hearts and thoughts.

“So it may be said that the chief purpose of life, for any one of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks.”

J. R. R. Tolkien

Fiji’s Thanksgiving Services

From the islands of Fiji, where her family has served the Lord for decades, Amanda Ball shared an observation about a lovely habit that believers there have.

“In Fiji, I thought it was so amazing that they would often have thanksgiving prayer services at their homes. It was a time when they wanted to publicly thank God for something and would invite all their friends over for a nice meal and would have a time of sharing and singing from their church members.”

What a wonderful thing to do!

I wonder if we have ever had a thanksgiving party or celebration (other than in late November) just to thank God for something He has done. Perhaps we have learned about an answer to prayer that we wrestled with for years? Perhaps a graduation? Perhaps a promotion? Not just going out to dinner – that is too similar to eating out at other times. Own the celebration. Think about the father in Luke 15:11-32. His prodigal son had returned, so he wanted to put on a feast of thanks.

Your celebration could have nothing to do with an achievement. It could be held in response to God’s incredible power and works in a way that just made you want to worship. Perhaps it is the design of a bird’s body and wings that enables it to fly. Perhaps it is God’s invention of water, or the weight of the water God keeps suspended in the air before it comes down as rain. Perhaps it is the Gulf Stream crossing the Atlantic that keeps Europe from becoming a frozen barren wasteland. Perhaps it is the way your dog seems pre-programmed to adore you.

Turn any meal with friends or family into a thanksgiving time. Do your research and then mention one of God’s amazing works before you pray or while you pray for the food. Can we really spend enough time celebrating God in thanksgiving?

Our Deepest Thanksgiving Feast

There’s a thanksgiving celebration that we are commanded to practice on a regular basis. I believe most of us believers participate in this. The Lord’s Supper is a thanksgiving feast. If we spent five minutes on the edge of hell, or saw a vision of people we know standing at the final judgment, the emotional intensity of our thankfulness would be very strong. If we make little of sin, and make little of the coming judgment, then being “saved” is just a mental note, and our thanksgiving will be tepid at best.

But Jesus stood in our place, bore the wrath we deserve, and then rose victorious kicking out the teeth of death for those who believe. We cannot say “Thank you, Jesus” enough. We are commanded in 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26 to remember what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross and to give thanks. We are to do this often until Jesus returns, never letting the repetition diminish the depth of our thanks. What a perfectly fitting thing to do.

American Thanksgiving

In the United States there is, of course, a public holiday in November when businesses close, households decorate, and family comes together for the purpose of celebrating Thanksgiving. Echoing God’s kindness to the settlers at Plymouth colony in 1621 by giving them native American friends and a good harvest, Americans are meant to thank God for His gifts of family, friends, and food in the past year.

It’s a lovely day to set aside specific time and effort dedicated to thanking God for what He has done and for who He is. Christians in other countries often say Thanksgiving should become an international Christian holiday.

But I would encourage you to create another focused time in addition to the regular Thanksgiving to celebrate God’s kindness and mercy with your friends. Could we learn from the Fijians? Maybe we could plan something with friends for the sole purpose of giving thanks? We could use our imaginations and create a special dinner or get-together just to thank God.

Your Own Little Thanksgiving

We are all unique individuals as God has created us. It’s beautiful to see how varied we all are. Can’t wait for heaven. The way we celebrate giving thanks will be unique, too.

My normal pattern is to journal. I like to process things by writing in my journal, things that are hard and difficult, and then wrap those things with thanksgiving and leave them with the Lord. When I am especially thankful, I also want to record my thanksgiving to the Lord in my journal. I want to write out my gratitude to Him. It is like a sacrifice of praise. So often the psalmist talks about giving the Lord the thanks He deserves (Psalm 50:14; 23; 107:22; 116:17).

My goal in this blogpost is to inspire you to think of ways you could plan a little thanksgiving celebration.

It may be any time of year. Celebrate what God is and has done.

“Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Hebrews 13:15-16

Search for a Blessing

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Can You Find It?

Have you gone through a really dry time filled with hardship and testing?

I was chatting with a friend lately who gave me a great idea. She had helped someone through one of those hard times. This is what she proposed. “Somewhere today God has a blessing for you. See if you can find it?”

It may be hidden; actually, most probably, it is. Might be outside or inside. Might be a quick emotion or something lasting longer.

One thing that is for certain is that if you go looking for a blessing, you’re gonna find something.

Put On Your Lenses

A big part of the solution is just putting on your glasses. Glasses? Yes, all sorts of lenses help us see things we would otherwise miss, see things more clearly, right? Telescope lenses, regular reading glasses, a magnifying glass, or even a microscope all help us enjoy, and even marvel at, the previously unseen. That is the function and glory of lenses. Th(i)nkful lenses, or blessing glasses, do the same thing.

Unseen things become visible. Things we see come more into focus.

Yesterday was hard for me. I was sick and completely worn out, but getting on my “blessing glasses” proved helpful. I still felt sick and tired of being sick and tired, but here are some of the blessings I found:

  • I made it through the day without throwing up
  • We have a bathroom inside our house and didn’t need to go to an outhouse
  • My precious granddaughter that I am watching took a really good nap
  • We are home in our own house, and I can sleep in my own bed with our lovely duvet
  • Singing Deuteronomy 31:8 to myself helped
  • Reading the first chapter of Jonah, along with other believers online, gave me a great view of my amazingly powerful Creator
  • Our paintings from Kevin Burrill were ready, and David hung them on our wall
  • I could fall asleep early and had a good night’s rest feeling stronger when I woke.

See! I found eight blessings just like that.

Blessings In The Dark

My college roommate, Joy, and I had an encouraging habit that we did right before we went to sleep. We would share our blessing from the day. The lights were out and we just called it out in the dark. Maybe we had done well on a test or quiz, perhaps it was a care package that arrived, maybe it was a Bible verse or someone asking if they could pray for us. Perhaps it was just a smile someone gave us. So many blessings.

Count Your Blessings

Johnson Oatman deeply admired his father, who possessed one of the most powerful and beautiful singing voices in the community, and he desperately wanted to sing just like his father. But alas, God hadn’t given him that gift. He went into the business world instead.

In the marketplace, Johnson encountered a widespread spirit of negativity. He saw it even in the church. Johnson firmly believed that thankfulness and a dark, discouraged outlook could not coexist in the human heart. So, at age 36, he created a tool to combat negativity, envy, and self-pity. He wrote a poem … that was later put to music and became a famous hymn. Perhaps you know it?

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

So, look for the blessing! Get your lenses on, to behold the big picture or the very small picture, and you will realize that there are so many, it is hard to count.

Th(i)nkful in Great Change

/ thinkfulkarin / 1 Comment

Moving Stats

Moving is a huge adjustment, and moving to a new country is even more demanding.

Here’s an interesting statement:

Moving to a new country is a monumental life event, ranking among the top life stressors alongside divorce and job loss. The transition involves a complex blend of psychological, logistical, and financial hurdles. 

Having experienced such a move recently, I would agree. Our move was perhaps a bit easier since we moved to a place that spoke English, an area where we had lived 31 years earlier, and we also had family nearby that helped immensely.

However, change comes in a variety of ways and is hard. You sometimes get the privilege of preparing yourself, but at other times, change is thrust upon you suddenly, without warning due to a bad accident, bad news regarding your health, civil unrest, or the outbreak of war. All changes are great opportunities for prayer-soaked wisdom and biblical meditation. They are also great opportunities to be th(i)nkful.

Preparing Yourself

TIME. If you had the privilege of preparation, what could a person do to get ready for change? Part of the preparation could be to realize that adjustments to this change are going to take time. I have to allow myself to adapt to a new normal. It’s ok to grieve the loss of the last normal, but I need to also embrace the new season God is bringing me into.

PHYSICAL CARE. Remember that the physical side of things matters greatly. Our physical, emotional, and spiritual gauges are linked to each other such that a spike or drop in any one of them affects the others. When we are tired, we tend to be more emotional, etc. So, a check on my physical condition is important.

  • How am I sleeping?
  • Am I making sure I eat nutritionally?
  • Am I fighting isolation, getting out with people even if it is not for very long?
  • Have I had a physical checkup recently?
  • Am I exercising? Maybe take a walk and pray as I walk. I heard yesterday that Adoniram Judson had a habit of walking and praying in the early morning each day for many years, and that it was of great physical and spiritual help to him.
Adoniram Judson https://thomaskidd.substack.com/p/exercise-and-the-writing-life

SOUL CARE. After addressing the physical side, I turn my attention to the soul care that is needed. First on the list, in my mind, is to write out a list of things that I can think thanks about, regardless of my new struggles, or any circumstances, for that matter.

  • I am redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Ephesians 1:7)
  • God never changes even if my circumstances do (Numbers 23:19)
  • I have access to the Word of God (Romans 10:8)
  • God is God and I am not (Isaiah 40, 55:8-11)
  • God often asked His faithful servants to go through great change (Hebrews 11)
  • God is faithful and trustworthy (Psalm 103)
  • God is good (Psalm 34:8)
  • God is merciful and gracious (Exodus 34:6)
  • God has given us promises that we can lean on like that He will never leave us of forsake us (Hebrews 13:5)
  • He promises supernatural peace when we bring our concerns to Him wrapped in thanksgiving (Phil.4:6)
  • Change has to happen for growth to occur (2 Corinthians 3:18)
  • I can find His sweet fingerprints in my every-day life (they are all over the place if you search)

CHOOSING AN ANCHOR. When my mom passed away years ago, someone wisely told me to ask the Lord for a special verse I could cling to as an anchor for my soul. I did that, and meditating and leaning on that scripture was of great comfort. God uses His Word to keep us settled in Him. I often make up a little chorus using the words of the verse, and then sing it to myself for self-counsel. Great habit!

When you rehearse these stabilizing truths, it paves the way for steadfastness even if going through great change.

Earthly Changes Through A Heavenly Lens

Change is made traumatic when it involves the loss of something you identified with – I was an accountant and lost my job, or I was a Virginian but moved out of state. If we summon up our biblical identity, earthly changes don’t hold as much weight.

When I trusted in Christ, my old self, with its earthly identities, died (Colossians 3:1-4). I am now a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20-21). I am now part of the embassy staff as an ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). I am a stranger here, a foreigner walking this earth, this valley of shadows and dust, longing to go home to an unbroken country and a celestial city with rivers and gardens better than Eden ever had (Hebrews 11:13-16, Revelation 21-22).

I need to live lightly in this world and heavily toward eternity. I need to frame earthly life through eternal realities, viewing changes and losses here as inevitable in a broken world. This world has lost its charm, so I will set my affections on things above, things to come.

Yes, big moves are important, and we need to navigate them correctly, but I need to live my short todays in light of the eternal tomorrow. An international move from one home to another is not so big when neither place is really my “home.” The Lord is my real estate; He has been our dwelling place in all generations (Psalm 90:1). Goodbyes are temporary, and when we get home those goodbyes will be no more.

God’s Track Record

It seems to me that when I begin to look for all the things God has done, and is doing, that my focus changes from irritation to calmness. He is in control! He knows how many hairs are on my head. He knows what I am going through right now and even has a purpose for all of it. He does not waste pain or discomfort. I can rest in the fact that He wants me to be conformed to Jesus, and that all the changes I may go through have an end goal of accomplishing that.

If there was never any change, there would not be growth. Dead things don’t change. We must have change! It is crucial. Meditating on that truth has been edifying. So even if it may be uncomfortable and I may cry from time to time, change is necessary. I must embrace what God has for me today, at this moment.

I do not know what changes you are going through, but I want to encourage you to set your mind above and to embrace the new normal with deliberate joy. Emotions may take a bit longer, but deep joy comes from within. Knowing that you have done what the Father has asked of you is a great foundation for deep joy.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

Frame It!

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Heaven’s Perspective

How do you frame your experiences?

By framing, I am referring to the way that you interpret something. Think of the mental lens in which you process your experiences and conversations.

We must interpret or frame earthly life through eternal realities. How does heaven evaluate my job….my troubles….our politics….the wars? It sees eternal values, eternal plans, and an eternal timeline…..over which God is in full control….and it interprets things differently. Having heaven’s perspective results in several things:

  • Sinning Less – the priority of purity
    • I Peter 2:11 – “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the the soul”
    • 2 Peter 3:13-14 – “But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”
  • Suffering Well – Eternal rewards dwarf earthly pain
    • 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:8 “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory.“
    • Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
    • Heaven gives earthly sorrows a different proportion – it resizes our suffering. Present suffering is not ultimate.
  • Saying Goodbyes – Every goodbye is temporary
    • Colossians 3:4 – “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also with appear with Him in glory.”
    • Heaven means the best fellowship is still ahead. This is especially meaningful to me at present as we leave living in Africa for the new season that awaits us.
    • Heaven is heaven because Christ is its center – it is precious because Jesus is there. One day, all Christ’s people will gather around His throne from every tribe and tongue and nation.
    • There will be no more departures, no more funerals, no more farewells or final sermons, no more tears, and no more sin or pain. We will see Christ as He is. And when that day comes, the years we spent serving together here will seem like a very inferior ghetto existence.
    • Heaven is better than the garden of Eden. It has rivers and gardens and trees (like the tree of life) and streets and dwelling places for you and for me. The Great City will come down and plant itself into the earth, and national delegations will visit and bring offerings for the King. It is another dimension that we have not been able to detect. And it will last forever.

Christians are people learning to live their short todays in light of the long tomorrow.

The crucial aspect of living differently is thinking differently – framing makes a big difference.

We rethink our experiences over and over. It’s good to journal and process, but it is vital that we rethink with the framework that God knows every tiny detail and is doing things for a purpose (Romans 8:28-29).

Numbering Gratitude

I have a dear kindred friend, Dawn, who actually counts her th(i)nkful posts. She sent this to me today because she hit 5000!!

She is framing her experiences in life through the lens of gratitude.

Take Joseph in Genesis. He was able to resist bitterness towards his brothers who did him such harm by selling him into slavery in a foreign country (Genesis 37-50). He instead framed all that he went through as actually designed by God to help preserve the family line from starvation (Genesis 50:20). That takes a lot of grace and trust in the sovereignty of our God.

I was inspired and have started numbering my daily th(i)nkful listings. Just think of rereading thousands of things for which we thank God and being encouraged all over again. Sounds a lot like Colossians 2:7.

“rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

Grateful While Suffering

I want to be clear about the fact that being th(i)nkful is not just being happy. You can be going through a very hard season and yet think thanks. Those two things are not opposites.

Faith does not force us to choose between honest grief and genuine gratitude. We can bring what is painful before God while still rejoicing in His goodness and grace. 

https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2026/05/15/when-it-could-be-worse-but-its-still-hard/

Yes, I don’t have to pretend everything is just perfect as I count my gratitude. I can lament my sorrow and tell the Lord that it hurts like crazy.

But I can call to mind that Jesus knows all about great sorrow. He has been there, tasted that, and knows all about those feelings of heaviness.

What a deep inner joy to know that although this life is full of very heavy boulders of grief and sorrow, we have a Saviour who has overcome. When He rose from the dead , He won over sin, and death and sorrow. Living with Eternity stamped on the back of our eyelids helps us remember that mindset.

My momma wanted this verse on her tombstone when she passed.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

Serving Others During Suffering Builds Gratitude

Anxious thoughts are often propelled away by thankful thoughts. The battle is really fought in the mind. What do we think about? What is our focus?

We find joy in choosing to frame our lives with God’s perspective and learn to abound with thankfulness. When we become interested in how we can encourage and help someone else, it does something to us personally. Reaching out and helping others have a way of edifying ourselves. That mindset gives purpose to hard seasons we may be going through. Perhaps this is something God is giving me to bridge into other people’s lives?

Joni Eareckson Tada wrote an article subtitled, “How Quadriplegia Prepared Me to Carry Others.”

When we long for heaven and the joys set before us, the things of this world grow dim, loose their importance and lustre. We can focus on others and how we can help them.

Let’s number our gratitude into the thousands.

“But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.”

Psalm 79:13

Let us frame our lives with God’s grace and gratitude to Him, looking for that Celestial City (Hebrews 11:16).

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Colossians 3:2

Wow, God!

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Th(i)nkful

Do you ever just write down things that you are thankful for? It doesn’t have to be big things, but it could be. It could be the breeze on your skin, the sound of water, or birds singing, or a friend’s laughter. The list could include having enough money to buy groceries this week or to put increasingly precious fuel in your car. On and on the list goes … if, and only if, you take the time to sit and think. And that’s what th(i)nkful is all about.

Making a th(i)nkful list was an exercise that we did at a conference we we attended recently. We were to write on little post-it notes one thing we thanked God for and then stick it on the big “Wow, God” board. It was so fun to walk by that board and read new things that were added throughout the week.

It was inspiring. It felt like good peer pressure, prompting the thought, “Certainly, I can think of more things to write down.” It might be a good idea for your home or a Sunday school class or a Youth room.

It seems to me that the more I look for God’s fingerprints and glory, the more I recognize it and want to express gratitude.

Some Things Are Hard

It’s one thing to write down things you are thankful for, but it is another thing to write down things that are hard, that you need help with. Most of us have no problem thinking of things for which we need the Father’s help. The Bible calls these “supplications” – asking for God’s supply to meet your needs. If you ask on behalf of others, the Bible calls that “intercession.”

He has told us in Matthew 11:28-30 to come to Him with our burdens. He also says in Philippians 4:6 to present our concerns to Him with thanksgiving.

“… do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

When you develop the th(i)nkful muscle, you can take those things and wrap them up with a thankful cloth. Yes, you really need God’s help to do this, but it is possible. It is not taking away the yuckiness, but instead saying to God, “This is hard for me, but I am thankful that You love me and am with me every moment, God. You will help me navigate through this test as I acknowledge You in my life and think correctly even about the super yuck things.”

Rooted and Built Up

There is a requirement, though, for you to wrap the difficult, prickly things in your life with thanksgiving. That requirement is that you have to be “rooted and built up in Him.”

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:7

Those roots need to grow deeply into the soil of God’s Word. Down in that soil, we tap into the nutrition of the character of God and the life-giving water of the Spirit. That is the key to thriving in hard times.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

To know God well is to fear Him, love Him, and trust Him. And because we trust Him in all things, we can thank Him in all things. This is one reason why Christians study the Bible so much – to know our amazing God better, and by knowing Him, to be able to frame our circumstances correctly and respond to them as we should.

“God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom, He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about.”

Jerry Bridges

Wow, God’s

Of the many things I have thanked God for this past year, some of the greatest are that David and I have been able to train, mentor, and encourage young couples who were recently married. Relationships are a mess worth making because redeemed souls can mature into capable servants of the Lord who will spread His Truth to the new generations that are coming up.

What a joy to pour courage over them to know, love, trust, and thank the Lord … and to be flexible, to learn to selflessly love one another, and to be a picture to the world of Christ and His beloved bride.

Everywhere you look in your life there are “Wow, God’s.” He is coming soon. Let us provoke each other to think thanks – to cultivate the habit of thankfulness – firstly, because He commands it (Ephesians 5:20; I Thessalonians 5:18), and secondly, because it helps us to thrive and produce fruit, even in hard times.

What are your “Wow, God’s?”

Is There a Good Anxiety?

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Learn to Discern

In his book, Consider the Lilies, Jonny Ardavanis broadened my understanding by stating that the Greek word for anxiety, merimnao, in the New Testament is actually translated in different ways, “the first two being ‘care’ and ‘concern,’ and the third being ‘anxiety’ or ‘worry.’” The first two are good, and one is bad!

We have been going through Consider the Lilies in a ladies’ Bible study, and I was profoundly hit with the concept that there is a good anxiety.

I found this most intriguing. I have presumed that any concern or anxiety is always portrayed negatively. But this word, merimnao, can also be a positive thing. Let’s take a closer look.

In 2 Corinthians 11:28, Paul wrote that he felt anxiety for all the churches.

“And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me for my anxiety for all the churches.”

2 Corinthians 11:28

Most modern Bible versions translate the word Greek word “concern,” but it is the same word that is used for “anxiety.” Paul also uses this good concern in Philippians 2:20 – “For I have no one like him [Timothy], who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.”

Perhaps you feel this is just semantics, but like Jonny Ardavanis exhorts us: “Specificity of definition matters as it relates to any subject in the Bible – especially as it relates to the subject of anxiety and worry and the character of God.”

Maybe it is good to evaluate what kind of concern I have about things in my life. Is it a proper concern, or is it anxiety and worry?

Pulled Apart

One of the definitions of merimnao, is “to have the mind pulled apart, cut into pieces, distracted or divided by worries.” In the 17 times that this word is used in the New Testament, 12 of those times it is used in a negative light. That concern has moved into an ungodly worry.

  • Matthew 6:25 – Do not worry about your life…
  • Luke 10:41- Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things….
  • Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything……

What Makes Concern Sinful?

So how can I know when my positive care or concern moves into ungodly worry and anxiety? This is a crucial skill we need to develop.

There is no doubt that we will encounter things that create care and concern for us. The Lord knows that. So how can we put up an alarm within ourselves when we start to migrate towards anxiety and worry?

A good visual is that of a stagnant pool compared to a flowing stream.

If we feel that we have to rely on ourselves and not include God in our considerations, we isolate ourselves and are like that smelly, stagnant pool. God does not see. God does not care. God is angry or displeased with me and is getting back at me. I have to fix this problem, and if I can’t, then there is basically no hope. I am alone, and I just can’t cope with this.

Contrasted with that, is when water is moving, flowing like a stream that is fed by many springs that flow into it. I am not alone with my problem in a stagnant pool. God is there. God’s Word is there. God’s Spirit is there. God’s purposes are there. God’s promises are there. The hand of God’s meticulous providence is there, limiting and guiding. God’s Throne room is open to me at an instant. God has the answer, or God is the answer. He can fix hearts. He can fix my heart. For all these reasons, I can begin my prayer with thanks. Then I will pour out my heart … and wait on Him.

When we loose reliance on God and that He is in control, we stew around and around trying to fix things ourselves. Basically we are saying that we don’t trust God or He doesn’t exist – acting like a functional atheist.

Certainly we need to do our responsibility to try to find solutions if that is within our proper power to do so, but we have to watch what we are relying on. The Lord reminds us in Proverbs 3:5 to not lean on our own understanding. I don’t have to figure it all out. We have to remember to trust the Trustworthy One.

It has to do with what we think about. We tend to meditate and focus too much on the problem, and if there is ambiguity about the future, we indict God and presume that He will probably send the worst possible outcome, and all will be sorrow and misery.

Instead, God tells us to pour out our burdens to Him with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). Sure, we will feel concern over troubling things, but after we have done what we can, we need to truly, really, REALLY leave it with the Lord who can do so much more than we can.

We often begin with harmless considerations and care, but it transforms to something ugly.

The Three Checkpoints

There are three checkpoints that can protect me from the sinful anxiety.

In Matthew 6:25 our Lord Jesus gives us some wonderful advice.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Context is the key to any verse. If we examine the verses that come prior to this command about not being anxious (Matthew 6:19-24), we will discover these three checkpoints.

FIRST CHECKPOINT: Examine what I treasure in my mind (vv. 19-21). One question that I use to identify those treasures is checking to see what I dream about when my mind is free. It is ok to think about earthly things as long as I always frame those things in what the Father’s will is for me. Maybe I am dreaming about having all my family together, for example, but I must hold that desire with an open hand because it may not be the Father’s will that it happen.

“The surest path to anxiety is to forget that we are pilgrims just passing through this life, and in turn, we stop living for the “better country” (Hebrews 11:16)

Jonny Ardavanis

SECOND CHECKPOINT: Examine what my eyes look at (vv. 22-23). You may argue that it doesn’t matter what I look at, but I would beg to differ. Our vision is the #1 input into the mind. Those images go into my soul. It may not be porn, but it could be clothes or fancy houses or travel or anything that looks so beautiful and desirable. If the Father wants me to have it and has already provided, then go ahead and look. If it is His Word, spend a lot of time looking. Dream the dreams that He dreams for you. But if it is not for you, guard your heart and don’t look at things He would not want you to look at.

Ardavanis warns that pornography has seemingly a direct correlation with people experiencing anxiety. Alluring our eyes to forbidden fruit and the false protection of the anonymity of a dark and secret world lays a trap that ensnares our souls in a deep and harmful manner. Unconfessed sin can rob a person of joy and peace (Psalm 51:12) and pull them into the depression of perpetual defeat.

Instead turn your eyes upon Jesus… things of the earth will grow dim.

“Although pornography promises an “escape,” all it truly does is perpetuate the prison of anxiety and despair.”

Jonny Ardavanis

THIRD CHECKPOINT: Examine who is my Master (v. 24)? What wins when it comes head-to-head with God? If I know what God wants me to do, and I don’t do that, what or who won? Whatever won is an idol sitting on the throne in my heart; it is my Master.

Could you have a different Master in your heart? Control? Bitterness? Unforgiveness? Fear? Comfort?

Th(i)nkful

Choosing to think thanks to God for everything as He commands, has a direct link to fighting the wrong kind of anxiety. He wants us to be quick to see His hand and to trust His character because we know Him. It is rooted in the full trust of God’s sovereignty. Yes, God may allow great sorrow in our lives, but He is always in control.

“We don’t always know why God allows evil. But we do know that God Himself is always good. Furthermore, we know this: God never allows any evil to take place that does not facilitate a greater good that could not have happened unless that evil had taken place.”

Scott Christensen

What do you know to be truth? Are you conscious of the warm-glow of His face on you (because Jesus made you spotless)? Are you meditating on God’s purposes for you at this very second? He’s your Dad if you have been adopted into His family. You can trust Him. If He takes care of the lilies of the field, He is going to take care of you.

All our anxieties are an invitation to draw closer to God by fixating our gaze on Him.

Information for this post was excerpted from “Consider the Lilies,” chapter 4, by Jonny Ardavanis

Full Grown

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Growing in Appreciation

“David, come look! See that bud right there? I planted that plant recently and look how it has grown and is getting ready to put out its first bloom. So beautiful!”

We live in a flat beside the Indian Ocean. I do not have really any earth that belongs to us except for garden containers on our balcony. But it is amazing what you can do with containers! I love to see my flowers pop up, mature, and thrive. Sometimes I have to prune heavily due to fungus or other things that are making plants deteriorate. Breaking up the soil to aerate it, and watering regularly, give a good probability that the flower in time will bud and bloom.

Remembering Pleasures

Do you take time to remember and ponder things that God has blessed you with? I have been meditating on this quote lately.

A pleasure is not full grown until it is remembered.

C. S. Lewis

We often think of pleasures just past as now fading, wilting, and dying, but Lewis says “no.” Bringing back to mind a pleasure, some happy thing, can be compared to bringing that pleasure to maturity.

No wonder God tells us to be thankful in all circumstances. When we reminisce about things that He has done for us, it brings that pleasure to full growth. The beauty is that in thankfulness, a memory continues to bloom and bloom and bloom throughout eternity. God’s pleasures don’t have an expiration date. Just a fuller satisfaction as time marches on.

The Hebrew Practice of Dayenu

Have you heard of the word dayenu? I had not. It was new to me.

“Dayenu” (meaning “it would have been enough”) is a 1,000-year-old traditional Jewish song and spiritual practice sung during the Passover Seder. It expresses profound gratitude for God’s blessings during the Exodus, listing 15 acts of liberation—from slavery to receiving the Torah—affirming that each blessing would have been enough, even if the journey had stopped there, but God kept on blessing.

Your Own Dayenu

Do you have a plan or tradition to initiate remembering? Churches practice the Lord’s Supper as a reminder to remember. Could you or your family or church do a dayenu regarding Jesus’ life and death? Try it some time!

Do you have a quiet time in the morning in which you can muse about God’s character and the amazing things He has done for humanity? He is not a distant, angry God. Our God loves. Our God plans. Our God came near. Our God became one of us. Our God teaches. Our God heals. Our God serves. Our God saves. Our God makes promises. Our God keeps promises. Our God is steadfast love and faithfulness. Our God is victor. Our God intends to dwell again with us. Our God cannot be stopped.

The mind will not automatically accrue information on the character of God. You need to renew your mind in the Word. It takes intentionality. David just finished teaching Bible Doctrine 1 in Uganda. The students worked hard. The hours were long, and it was hot. They learned about the character of God. We discussed that these character traits were not just lists to memorize, but were fuel for vibrant worship.

I love learning more about our incredible, marvelous Creator God. Learning is step 1; remembering is steps 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on. We must practice remembering the wonderful truths about our Redeemer and keep the pleasure of who He is and what He has done alive and growing.

Frangipani

Pleasures Full Grown

Thank You…..

for your genius, creativity, and power in the creation

for Your sovereignty over the affairs of men and nations, and my little life

for Your hesed, your steadfast love for us

that You never lie and are completely trustworthy in your timing and choices

that You know the end from the beginning

that you are not a meager God who can be figured out

that You made us in Your image and likeness

that you didn’t stay offended and aloof, but came to reconcile us to Yourself

That you sent Jesus to come as a baby, live a perfect human life and die as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and rise again victorious over death, sin, hell, and the evil one

that You provide for Your own

that You know every smallest detail and how it all fits together

that you give us the ability to remember the pleasures you give us, and to enjoy them all over again through gratitude!

Anxious or Anchored?

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We Are No Strangers to Storms

The wind was howling. Its strength visible by the leaning of the trees along the coast of the Indian Ocean. Storms here come in such varieties. Some park over the sea and churn buckets of water on the earth below reshaping large rivers and beaches overnight. Some have gusts that shake the very foundations of the earth, twisting infrastructure and edifice alike. And some have all of the above.

How do you feel in a storm? Do you remember cosy times cuddled by a fireplace reading and not worrying an iota? Perhaps you have a different recollection of a storm that wreaked havoc on your life and took precious things from you?

Rescue workers go on high alert during such storms. They have been trained to know what are the first and foremost things to get accomplished. They have tools and equipment that are essential, and tough vehicles that can chew their way through the rubble and high waters to get into ravaged places to rescue the perishing. So thankful for these people.

How wise is the person that prepares ahead of the storm so that when it hits, he is ready. This is true when you are at sea perhaps more than any other place. Whereas the ground tends to be firm, and can even be burrowed into for safety, the sea can be a merciless place that tosses you about for days and even weeks without a break.

Almost the very definition of hopelessness is someone adrift at sea in a horrible storm with no motor, no sails, no oars, and no anchor.

Anchored

Maybe you feel that a storm is raging inside you. Outside, you may appear just fine to others. But in your thoughts and emotions, you are in a horrible storm battling the foreboding winds of change, loss, challenge, or uncertainty. Dark clouds on the horizon vow that even more is coming. Alone, your tears fall like heavy rain. Your thoughts spin and lurch like a rudderless ship with the sails all torn. Hope seems like a bad joke. You don’t know what to think or do next. I know. I have been there, too.

Credit: J. H. Brown

Emotions are real, but they are not reality. When we are in a storm, we must send our minds down beyond our circumstances, down to a deeper reality … and give our emotions a bit of time to follow. You see, we have an anchor. Our minds have a chain of truths that go down deep and are connected to an anchor set firmly into a Rock that does not move. We are connected. We are held. We belong. We are tethered in the storm by the Author and Measurer of the storm. The storm teaches us the power of the Rock and underscores the need for a good anchor that can hold us fast in the dreadful waves that throw our souls back and forth. ⚓️

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,”

Hebrews 6:19

Go from Anxious to A.N.C.H.O.R.E.D.

I came across a helpful tool recently. It gives a simple reminder to the person who is the midst of a storm of anxiety, but desires to gradually leave that state and feel anchored.

A — Acknowledge God’s Sovereign Presence — Psalm 23:4; Psalm 139:1-12; Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 41:10,13; Psalm 46:1

N — Name the Fears and Lies Beneath the Anxiety — Psalm 139:23-24; Psalm 19:14; Lamentations 3:40

C — Confess Unbelief and Self-Dependence — I John 1:9; Psalm 32:5; Psalm 51:10; Proverbs 28:13

H — Hold Fast to God’s Promises in Christ — Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 26:3; Hebrews 10:23

O — Orient Your Mind to Scripture — Lamentations 3:21; Psalm 119:11; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2

R — Redirect Desires Toward God’s Kingdom — Colossians 3:1-2; Matthew 6:33; Psalm 37:4

E — Entrust Cares to God Through Thankful Prayer — Philippians 4:6; Psalm 37:3,5; I Peter 5:7; I Thessalonians 5:16-18; Psalm 28:7; Colossians 4:2

D — Do the Next Faithful Step — Psalm 37:23; Proverbs 3:6; Micah 6:8; Philippians 3:13-14; Proverbs 4:25-27

@Biblical Counselors Society

Are You Anchored?

You may think you are anchored, but when a raging storm threatens your tranquility, your anxieties become apparent. Perhaps your anchor and chain of truths are not sufficiently strong. Perhaps they are not set into the Rock but are unhelpfully dragging along the bottom. You are being thrown and tossed, bruised and broken.

The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you.”

J. I. Packer,

Knowing God

The world experiences peace circumstantial, but the Christian’s peace is not anchored in happenstance or circumstance but in the character of our Heavenly Father.”

Jonny Ardavanis, Consider the Lilies

“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16

I want to end by encouraging you to write out the acronym for A.N.C.H.O.R.E.D. and look up the verses that support it. It will be a step of establishing a secured anchoring in TRUTH.

Christ The Sure And Steady Anchor

Christ the sure and steady anchor in the fury of the storm
When the winds of doubt blow through me and my sails have all been torn
In the suffering, in the sorrow when my sinking hopes are few
I will hold fast to the anchor, it shall never be removed

Christ the sure and steady anchor while the tempest rages on
When temptation claims the battle and it seems the night has won
Deeper still then goes the anchor though I justly stand accused
I will hold fast to the anchor, it shall never be removed

Christ the sure and steady anchor through the floods of unbelief
Hopeless, somehow, o my soul now lift your eyes to calvary
This my ballast of assurance see His love forever proved
I will hold fast to the anchor, it shall never be removed

Christ the sure and steady anchor as we face the wave of death
When these trials give way to glory and we draw our final breath
We will cross that great horizon, clouds behind and life secured
And the calm will be the better, for the storms that we endured
Christ the shore of our salvation, ever faithful, ever true
We will hold fast to the anchor, it shall never be removed

Matt Papa

Credit: Nora Brown