Gratitude & Grace

God’s Journal

/ thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Thankful Remembrance

“Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.”

Malachi 3:16

God is God. He doesn’t need to write something down to remember it. But this passage states that God is listening to certain human beings. He listens with interest and delight as believers who are in awe of Him talk about Him and think of ways to honor His name. He has ordered that a “book of remembrance” be written about those believers. It seems that this is His ongoing journal covering centuries of conversations between believers.

There are a few verses that talk about books in the Bible:

  • Exodus 32:32 says that Moses referred to God’s book
  • Psalm 56:8 refers to a book where the Lord keeps count of our tears
  • Psalm 69:28 references a book of the living
  • Daniel 7:10 says the books being opened
  • Daniel 12:1 mentions names being written in a book
  • Revelation 13:8 mentions the Book of Life
  • Revelation 20:12 mentions the books being opened
  • Revelation 20:15 The Book of Life and the books are opened

It is interesting to note that ancient kings, like the kings of Persia, had books to keep track of memorable deeds that needed to be rewarded.

On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”

Esther 6:1-3

In Malachi, God is dealing with Israel because of their sin. He addresses their empty, hypocritical worship, teaching error, adultery and murmuring. But then as a great encouragement He says that He has been listening to the faithful ones. Of course nothing is hidden from the Lord. He sees our hearts and motives. He knows us better than we know ourselves. But He has apparently directed an angelic scrivener to keep an ongoing Book of Remembrance about the faithful ones and their conversations.

God is thinking thanks!! What!?

The Lord states that He remembers. He even says that those who feared the Lord and spoke to each other about God would not only be remembered, but also be His own special and treasured possession, like jewels were in ancient times.

They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Malachi 3:17

The Lord God doesn’t need to thank anyone. He is the author of all! He deserves the praise, the gratitude, the worship. That is why it is so fascinating that He, God, would “write down” the names of the faithful ones.

Searching For My Name

But … is my name in His journal? If I could do a word search, could I even find my name? If so, what was the quality of my words, and were they unmixed with self-interest? How many times has He listened while I spoke to others about Him with joyful amazement and high esteem?

Or have my sentiments about the Lord and His works just been private and kept to myself? Private feelings don’t get recorded. A journal entry requires the Lord to hear us talking to each other about Him.

Your Book

To be “godly” is to be “god-like.” God keeps a journal of people and conversations He is thankful for. Do you have a book of remembrance? Do you write down things for which you are remembering to think thanks?

I also wonder if those words in Malachi 3:16-17 were written for us to remember that God will reward righteousness. The Bema Seat is coming. And the beauty in all this is that whatever we thought, said, or did that was pleasing to the Lord we could do only with His help. Yet, He says that we will be spared as a man spares his only son.

The Lord Jesus exhorted His disciples to rejoice because their names were written in heaven (Luke 10:20). In Colossians 1:12-14 the Lord exhorts us to give thanks because He has delivered us from the domain of darkness.

“… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.“

Delayed

God’s reward is delayed. It is like the student that works hard all year and then at graduation is granted an award. The Israelites in Malachi had grown weary from waiting on the Lord. They felt like He didn’t see, He didn’t really care. They grew envious of the wicked.

We, too, can begin to grow weary and feel like it doesn’t really matter. “The Lord doesn’t see what I do, what I think about and treasure in my heart.” But that is a LIE! He does see. He does know all things, and nothing can be hidden from El Roi (the God who sees).

Be encouraged, you who fear, esteem, and converse! The Lord knows who you are, faithful ones. He will remember and reward. He wants us to keep on keeping on till the end. Even our precious Lord Jesus kept the end in view.

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:2

Start them young!!

Josh Sullivan’s Miracle

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A Kidnapped Missionary

When Pastor Josh Sullivan was knocked in the head and kidnapped right from the pulpit in his church, he had no idea of what lay ahead for him.

Josh and his family came to serve the Xhosa people in South Africa. They learned the language and sought to share the good news of the gospel.

The township of Motherwell where the Sullivans ministered was a high risk area. The people there were well acquainted with theft and unsafe conditions.

The Sullivans knowingly came anyway. They loved the people there.

On April 10, 2025, Josh had just started to speak when four men entered the hall. At first it was not clear why they had come, but it did not take long before their purpose became evident. The men had guns and proceeded to confront Josh. They asked him if this was his wife after grabbing Meagan. They then hit Josh over the head and he fell down almost blacking out. Meagan was also pushed to the floor. Their children and the rest of the church were left alone, just staring eerily.

Josh was forced up, down the aisle amid the whimpers of his children, and out of the building into his own car and they drove away.

The Wait

For 122 hours everyone waited. Josh also waited in a distant house as his captors let the authorities know their demands for money. The news hit social media and then the mainstream media, and people all over the world prayed earnestly for God to protect and free Josh. They prayed for safety for Meagan and the kids. They prayed for God to be glorified through this very difficult, challenging situation.

The authorities were working behind the scenes. The kidnappers were trying to negotiate a ransom for Josh’ life. Some were starting to gather funds.

This is a very tricky problem in mission work. Most mission organizations don’t pay ransoms. It opens up a whole can of worms. If money can be acquired through this means, every missionary in the country becomes a target, and there’s almost no end to the nightmares that could flow from that. We, as fellow missionaries, were praying for great wisdom for the negotiation team, hoping that law enforcement would find Josh before money was paid.

Josh’s feet and hands were tied, and he was hooded. He was kept in the back room of the house. They threatened him, but did not harm him. They offered water and food, and allowed Josh to use the bathroom.

The Miracle

On Tuesday, April 15th, the kidnappers told Josh that he needed to get to the car.

Josh had noticed they were cleaning a lot that day, washing and wiping things down. As they moved toward the garage in the darkness, Josh fell two times. One time it took a while for him to get back up. Three of the men got in the car, two in the front and one in the back with Josh. Josh had a hood over his head and had his head down in the lap of the guy in the back seat.

Josh realized that there were two other guys outside. One opened the garage door. The car pulled out into driveway. Then the car stopped as someone opened the gate at the front wall. At that point, Josh heard the three guys jump out of the vehicle and 20-some shots were fired for about 2-3 minutes. Then everything was quiet.

Josh heard footsteps approaching the car and he prayed to God that it would be a “good guy.” The door opened and the policeman was shocked to see Josh there. He paused, a bit confused, and then said, “Are you the American pastor?” Josh responded that indeed he was. Josh got out of the car, fell to his knees and prayed and cried thanksgiving to God.

The miracle is that the four policemen who pulled into that exact driveway were actually lost and trying to turn around. They were following a tip on a vehicle, but had made a wrong turn. When they pulled into the driveway, they were shocked to see three men get out of their vehicle and begin shooting. The other two guys that were in the garage and opened the gate got away, but the three kidnappers were killed.

The next day when Josh was being debriefed by the South African police and the FBI, that same initial policeman came up to Josh. He wanted to tell Josh that he knew he was a praying man and that it was a work of God that they happened to be there exactly at that time. So, Josh tripping two times on his way to the car, was all part of the perfect timing of our incredible God. This was a fine-tuned rescue by the Sovereign God.

https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=josh%20sullivan%20kidnapping&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:3df28323,vid:kMr5H-kwNsc,st:0

Thinkful

As the world watches this news story and the TV interviews that followed with great interest, both Josh and his wife Meagan want to be very careful to give thanks to God. This was not the FBI or the CIA. This was not even “just a coincidence” as humans might try to call it. This was an answer to the prayers of thousands of people.

God rescued Josh!

We thank Him that it was His will for Josh to be released. We know that God is good all the time, and would be good even if there had been a different ending to this story. But this time God chose to free His servant and let him rejoin his wife and children. We thank Him. We praise Him. We rejoice in the gospel message going out all over the world through this event.

“Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.”

Psalm 142:7

Let us continue to pray for Josh and his family. Processing trauma takes time.

  • Pray specifically that they will hold their thoughts captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
  • Pray for them to think on truth and not on “what if’s” (Philippians 4:8)
  • Pray for God to receive much glory from this miracle (Psalm 145:3)

Hard Times Harder

/ thinkfulkarin / 4 Comments

Can Hard Get Harder?

“Oh, no!” a friend cried out as she lost her balance and fell to the floor. Her left wrist caught her fall and yielded to a small bone fracture.

My dear friend ended up in the emergency room, had to have her ring cut off, and her left hand is now out of commission for four weeks, right during the holidays!

In a totally different part of the world my dear daughter in the Lord, Adaleen, also had a challenging Christmas. She went to worship with the church on Christmas Day and then returned to her tiny apartment and enjoyed Christmas all alone.

She writes:

It was so peaceful
Gave thanks to the Lord
Opened my gifts
I ate until I couldn’t move 😄
And then took a little nap🙏🏽

“The hardest time to go through a hard time is in the good times.”

David Brown

Another friend and coworker is missing a recently deceased spouse. The internal conflict of going through that first Christmas without a special someone is legendary.

Suffering a broken wrist when you want to serve others in the kitchen, or being alone at a time when family gathers, or navigating a joyful season when your life partner will no longer share it with you. These things are hard…..

……but even harder at Christmas.

Why Is It So Difficult?

We have an expectation inside of what is right and good, and when Christmas comes, and one or more of those conditions are not there, it exaggerates the pain. Imagine Christmas without any music. Or Christmas without any lights or decorations anywhere. It would just seem so wrong, downright disturbing and dystopian.

But play the music and put up decorations everywhere, and then imagine Christmas where you cannot participate in any meaningful way due to illness, injury, or responsibilities elsewhere, or Christmas without dear ones who have passed away. Again, it just seems wrong. The radiance of the Advent turns up the contrast on the darkness in your heart. I remember when my mom died that I didn’t want Christmas to come. I wanted to avoid it because it hurt so much.

I often think of the advice given to Ciara when she returned home from quadruple amputation last year. Her friend told her to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

She wanted to give up. It was too hard, but God gave her grace to pursue gratitude and trust in a sovereign God. She started to think thanks. Her slogan has become Always grateful.

You choose to think the right thoughts. It’s a work in progress. We fall. We get back up. We choose to be strong and let our hearts take courage, we who wait on the LORD (Psalm 31:24).

You download grace from the LORD’s inexhaustible storehouse to think thanks in every circumstance.

This is not easy! This is maturity above immaturity. This is warfare of the mind!

“I WILL offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.”

Psalm 116:17

It’s a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Sacrifices costs you something!!

Processing the Hard

You don’t ignore the pain. You are allowed to pour out your heart to the Lord. You can do it in anguish even, but run to Him with your pain and not away from Him. He wants to make you better, steadfastly faithful through this, more like His Son, Jesus.

Learning to search for thankful thoughts when you are sad and struggling is a feat indeed.

My friend Debbie, who broke her wrist did that. In fact, she found comfort and inspiration in Ciara’s godly response. How beautiful is that!!

Ciara and Debbie are both worshipping God with their gratitude in the midsts of their pain and frustration. It is like pouring fertilizer on their reward one day in heaven.

We don’t get to choose what kind of tests the Lord will take us through. He chooses our crosses. But we get to choose how we respond.

Having a friend to walk with you during these times is helpful. Just to express to that friend:

“Yes, it is hard, but I am choosing to think on truth.”

  • The Lord has not left me (Isaiah 43:2, Hebrews 13:5b)
  • It could have been worse (Revelation 16:17-21)
  • It will pass; even if it lasts as long as this earthly life, we are headed to a Celestial City where there is no more pain (Hebrews 11:14-16, 12:22-29, Revelation 21:4)
  • God’s Word is a rock of refuge to us (Psalm 71:3a)
  • Others may gain inspiration from me thinking thanks which in turn brings more glory to God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Embrace the Hard

I am challenging myself here, as well as seeking to inspire you, to not run away from the “hard,” but instead face it, run toward it, embrace it. You will get through it!!

Step by step, download grace. Cry out to the Lord for help and think thanks!

My two friends who are downloading grace to think thanks in their hard times.

Joy Fuel

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Your Joy-Fuel Gauge

This girl brings me joy. 😃 She is a “fueler” for me, not a “drainer” – spending time with her increases my joy, settles peace in my heart, and expands my imagination. She mentioned that the song by Steph Schlueter entitled, “Counting My Blessings,” is one of her favorites. 🎶

Most of us are very familiar with the fuel gauge in our cars. It reflects what level of fuel is in the tank. But, try to picture an “emotional gauge” inside of you. It reflects how much strength and resilience you have in your “emotional tank” to meet new events and people and struggles each day. People who care a lot and give a lot can empty their emotional tank. If they do it too often without sufficiently refueling, they will struggle with burnout. And your emotional gauge affects your physical and spiritual gauges as well; these three are tied together.

There are several fuels that can slowly refill your emotional tank, like peace and solitude and meditating on God’s truth. But there is nothing like the fuel called “joy.” Joy is the #1 fuel for your emotional tank. When you have no joy, you can barely move forward. But joy acts like a medicine.

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Proverbs 17:22

“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10

So, where can you get this fuel? What is the level of your joy storage to refuel your emotional tank? Is it brimming to the fullest and pouring over?

Joy Is Different

Most of you already know that joy and happiness are not the same. Happiness is a response to positive external happenings; happiness disappears when things go sour. Joy is an internal mindset that sustains you when things are sweet or sour. So, how can you get this “internal frame of mind?”

Meg Bucher gave us the insight that “Happiness is a reaction to something great. Joy is the product of someone great.” True joy is connected to the Creator. In the biblical worldview,

Joy is my calm enthusiastic confidence in the presence of God’s face shining on me, the goodness of God’s character, and the perfection of God’s sovereign plans. In short, God’s delight in me, God’s kindness to me, and God’s control in my life.

We can differentiate joy and happiness in several ways, including:

  • Source: Joy is a fruit of the internal workings of the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22), while happiness comes from things outside of me (having a flowing spring within rather than seeking a stream nearby – John 4:14).
  • Duration: Joy is a long-lasting state of being, while happiness is temporary and fleeting.  
  • Origin: Joy is developed internally, while happiness is achieved externally. 
  • Nature: Joy is a deep enthusiastic peace that comes from within, while happiness is an outward reflection of circumstances. Happiness may be more animated than joy, but joy has more staying power over time and through hardships.

Creating the Fuel of Joy

How do we create the fuel of joy? We extract it from God’s truth and from deposits God has placed within our circumstances. It takes a choice. It takes thought. We must choose to meditate on the good things that God has given us. Being th(i)nkful is what creates the fuel of joy.

Even if our circumstances are not that great, we stop and think for a bit, and find these deposits of joy. In fact, we are to count it all joy when we face trials. Why? God is building long-term virtue in us, and God loves long-term virtue in His children. Our calm enthusiastic confidence in God’s love, goodness and perfect plans for us fuels and sustains our steadfastness when driving down the sometimes long road of sorrow and heartache. Joy heals. Joy gives power.

Gratitude is the first step to building joy into our lives…

Jim Wilder

We are at God’s table every day, and it is free, whatever we have. It is accounted very unmannerly for a man at his friend’s table to find fault with things…Now when we are at the table of God (for all God’s administrations to us are his table)…for us to be finding fault and to be discontented is a great aggravation of our sin.

Jeremiah Burrough, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

So many of us are trouble-shooters, problem-solvers, which has a nasty side effect – we spend our days focusing on trouble and problems. True, we can’t just live all day in the bliss of thankfulness and militant contentedness where we leave everything a mess and get nothing done. But in our mornings and evenings, and repeatedly oscillating throughout the day, we need to focus on things we are thankful for.

Think the thanks, express the thanks, remember and honor the One to whom the thanks is due. You are creating the fuel of joy for your emotional tank. The ancient word “rejoice” means to intensify joy by repeating it, recalling it, and expanding upon it. It is a sister to being th(i)nkful.

“I do not think the church rejoices enough. We all grumble enough and groan enough: but very few of us rejoice enough.”

Charles Spurgeon

Why Invest in Joy Fuel?

Perhaps the first reason should be because God asked us to rejoice in Him (Philippians 4:4), to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and to even rejoice and give thanks when we face persecution (Matthew 5:11-12).

But also, when we purposefully develop a habit of gratitude, and discover the huge deposits of joy in the discipline of thankfulness, we become gospel-contagious. So few people in this world see joy. Their eyes and hearts are heavy with sorrow, regret, and guilt. A joyful person is an anomaly. Many people are skeptical when they see a truly joyful person. “Why are they being that way? That can’t be real.” But a follower of Jesus who knows the gospel well has a treasure trove of things to be thankful for and joyful about.

Most of you know this good news, but some do not, so read this carefully. Jesus of Nazareth was God in human form who came to die in our place and for our sins to save us from God’s judgment. Hundreds saw him after he rose from the dead, and the news of his teachings, death, burial, and resurrection has spread around the world. One day soon, Jesus is returning to planet earth.

A person can only be forgiven of their lifetime of sins when he or she believes in what Jesus did and asks God to save them (Romans 10:9-10). When someone turns from their sin to the Savior, God declares them fully righteous in His court, gives them spiritual rebirth, adopts them as His children, and sends His Spirit to live inside them beginning the lifetime work of transforming them to become more like Jesus. They have peace with God and begin to experience the peace of God.

When Christians sin, we can confess that to Him, be cleansed from that unrighteousness and be restored to the joy of a clean conscience. That joy is catchy! Joy is attractive. Your obedience in cultivating thankfulness and joy could be the catalyst that brings another to Christ!

“You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.”

Psalm 4:7

Endorsement

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A Scientific Study in Brain-Psychology

In this excerpt from a recent article dated May 22, 2024, notice what the secular scientific community has observed are the effects of thinking thanks:

Brain scans have shown that expressing gratitude activates the prefrontal cortex, a crucial area responsible for decision-making and emotional regulation. This neurological activation prompts the release of dopamine, the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter, enhancing mood, increasing motivation, and sharpening attention.

Over time, a consistent gratitude practice goes beyond ephemeral emotions — it fosters lasting changes in the brain. By engaging regularly in gratitude practices, like journaling, mindful reflection, and expressing thanks, we modify our neural pathways, transforming a simple act of thankfulness into a sustainable habit. This habit enhances our mental resilience and facilitates a more optimistic outlook with ease, establishing a solid foundation for emotional stability. 

https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/why-gratitude-may-be-your-brains-best-friend

Interesting!! This is not from a biblical source. But laboratory science once again testifies that what God has exhorted us to do is really healthy for us to do.

Our “Take” on the Matter

When we take the time to process, and we deliberately choose to discover things for which to give thanks, we are opting to have a certain take. We could select things about which we are especially aggravated in the same situation, and would thereby go for a completely different take on the matter.

You decide what you can “take” from any situation. You may say, “I cannot help myself. I naturally notice all the flaws, shortcomings, and disadvantages.” I would like to suggest that you don’t have to. You can formulate new thinking patters. God will help you as you call out to Him for grace to obey His command in Ephesians 5:20.

“giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

What God has called us to do doesn’t feel natural at first, but it is definitely beneficial. The article referenced above reinforces the emerging data that the habit of thinking gratitude is good for you. Your emotional wellbeing is improved, as well as ability to sleep, to name a few benefits. Those are good reasons to pursue being thinkful, but of much more importance is the exhortation from the Creator of the human brain Himself. Even if you did not receive those physical health benefits, it would be very good for you to develop this mental discipline, purely to be obedient to our Creator God.

Do You Have Feet on Your Intentions?

May I encourage you to begin today?

Even if it would just be one item a day for which you give thanks … in a year, that would 365 items.🎉 It doesn’t actually take much energy to choose to be different, to deliberately have a different take on people and situations. However, it does take forethought. You need to actively plan to pursue gratitude, because the natural human disposition is to be negative.

Sanctification is the process of God molding you to be more and more like Jesus. Following Christ’s example, and choosing to think thanks, is possible as the Spirit works in you. Through prayer, you can ask Christ for his enabling help throughout the day …

  • to pause your action or talk,
  • to scan all aspects of your situation,
  • to select something or someone in it or around it for which you can be thankful,
  • to express that thankfulness verbally or in written form, and
  • to thereby develop those neural pathways.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 3:18

Let God start formulating in you the habit to think thanks and enjoy the natural consequences!

Blessed

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Blessed?

How would you describe a man whose mother was the ninth wife of a polygamist, and due to persecution by the other wives, chose to flee from the home forever leaving her toddler baby boy to grow up as the abandoned one among all the “other children?” He would never see her again.

When he reached his primary school years, there was so much strife in the home that he left as well, becoming a street-kid sleeping outside under bridges or wherever. Amazingly, he cheerfully and dutifully did odd jobs for people in town to buy food and pay his own way through primary school. In his early teens, he returned home only to find that his father and family were involved in intense witchcraft, so he fled home again.

As he worked his way through high school, there was a German-language teacher who had the boys come to his home for a meal, and he shared the gospel with them. God spoke to this young man’s heart, and he received Christ. He received forgiveness for his sins and a new purpose for living.

A few years later, as he grew in his faith, he worked his way through engineering school, but while working as an engineer, God called him into ministry. Now a pastor for more than a decade, he is finishing his Masters in Theology with NTCGS (National Theological College and Graduate School). David had him in his latest class.

How would you describe such a person given his horrific childhood? Would you have described him as “Blessed?” His name is Paddy Blessed Musoke.

David and Paddy (Paddy gave me permission to tell his story)

Choosing God’s Perspective

As we discussed God’s purposes in suffering during our class time, David mentioned the seven initial responses Christians should have when facing suffering:

  1. God is God and I am not (Ps. 115:3, Is. 40:13-14).
  2. God’s ideas and plans are far beyond my human understanding (Is. 55:8-9).
  3. God is the sovereign over all calamities in and around my life (Job 36:32, 1 Sam. 2:6-7, Is. 45:7, Lam. 3:38, Amos 3:6, Nahum 1:3). Nothing/no one touches me without His love, permission, and design (Rom. 8:28).
  4. God knows exactly what I can handle with His grace, though it seems more than I can handle; He is holding back a crushing amount of suffering that might destroy my faith (1 Cor. 10:13, Dan. 3:17, 2 Pet. 2:9).
  5. God loves me with an everlasting love; He is always good; He is faithful and will never leave me (Psalm 119:67-68, 71, Is. 43:2, Jer. 31:3).
  6. God calls me to be resolutely thankful for so much during my suffering (Phil. 4:6, 1 Thess. 5:18).
  7. I am the servant of the Lord, immortal, invincible, and indestructible until the Lord is finished with me, and then eager to go Home when He calls me (2 Cor. 5:1-9).

Paddy came up after class and after sharing his story, related that during his devotion time in November 2023, he sensed the Lord asking him to thank Him for his hard past, for his painful childhood and difficult memories. “Thank me, Paddy.” It seemed so odd and horrible that the Spirit would ask this … and yet he knew that God had already used his past pain and street smarts in ministry. With tears, he agreed and thanked the Lord … and felt a huge burden lift from his soul knowing that the Lord had built sovereign foundations into his life, making him the man and minister that he is. He thoughtfully nodded and told us, “It is important to be thankful in all things.”

Setting Up God For A Fall

Your view of God is the most important thing about you. To the extent your view is flawed, it will distort, disturb, and disrupt your perceptions of yourself and your circumstances. Your real theology comes out in a crisis, like the squeezing of a sponge reveals whatever is inside. To use another analogy, trials are the tornado that tears off the “street view” your formal beliefs leaving exposed the basement of your functional beliefs.

There are several common ways that Christians think about God that “set Him up for failure” when they begin to suffer. In other words, popular teaching as well as the hymns and choruses we sing require more of God than the Scriptures do, so that when we suffer, we feel He has failed us, wasn’t there for us, did not hear us, or refused to respond to our deepest needs. Let’s look at some of these flawed views:

  1. GOD IS MY GENIE – “When I call on Him, He has magical power to grant my wishes and fix my problems.”
  2. GOD IS CHIEFLY MY FRIEND – “My friends don’t hurt me or let me down but run to help me in hard times however they are able … and God has infinite ability.”
  3. GOD HAS MY IDEA OF LOVE – “God’s love is like my love for my children, wanting only happy and positive things so that I can thrive, and His power guarantees me a smooth ride in life.”
  4. I HAVE FAITH IN FAITH – “If I believe, pray, and give enough, it will go well for me. If God doesn’t answer, there is some unknown sin or problem with me that is stopping Him.”
  5. PSALMS AND PROVERBS ARE PROMISES – “If I do what is right, God will make things good. As my shield and defender and Shepherd and Rock, He won’t allow bad things to happen to me.”
  6. ALL THE PROMISES OF SCRIPTURE APPLY TO ME – “As a Christian in the modern Church Age, I can claim as my own the promises God gave to ancient Israel at any time, even those given during unique circumstances.”
    • “None of these diseases shall come near me” – Exodus 15
    • “No weapon formed against me shall prosper” – Isaiah 54
    • “He only has thoughts of good and not evil” – Jeremiah 29

God has some great relational titles: Creator, Father, Redeemer, Sanctifier, Crafter, Comforter, and Guide. I love all of those. But genie and friend are not on the list. There are no such verses that explicitly say so, and those who say God is in those roles often turn their backs on Christ, the Church, and the faith when hard trials come. “How could God … ?!” And they turn away from a God who is silent or busy or not there or not very loving. Their wrong view of God set Him up for a fall.

The role of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter is perhaps closest to the role of a friend, but God is not committed to making it easy and nice for His children as friends typically are. Ask the Old Testament prophets. Ditto John the Baptist. Ditto Jesus. Ditto all of the Apostles. Ditto the faithful martyrs through the centuries. We are caught up in the workings of a much greater plan than we can imagine, and often we need more personal shaping than we can imagine, so God’s work involves our suffering.

So when God’s Word says to give thanks in all circumstances, He knows that this will be grueling for some of us. And yet, it is curative. It embraces with tears the background sovereign purpose and design behind all our pain and loneliness so that, as Rutherford wrote, I can “praise God for the hammer, the file (rasp), and the furnace.”

“It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.”

A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous

Are you blessed?

Th(i)nkful for Emmanuel

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God Became Man

There is only one time in history that a multitude of angels gave praise to God before a human audience. Just one time. It wasn’t when God appeared to Moses on Mt. Sinai, or at the parting of the Red Sea, or when the Temple in Jerusalem was dedicated by Solomon. It also wasn’t when Jesus walked on water, or when He died at Golgotha, or even when He rose again triumphing over sin, death, Satan, and hell.

It was on the evening that Deity stepped into humanity and was born to walk among us; the night Emmanuel was born. The single angelic announcement of the birth of the only Savior of the entire world was not made to Caesar, nor to a Roman governor, nor to the Jewish High Priest nor the leaders of the Jewish faith. In today’s terms, there was no social media blitz.

This singular event of seeing an angelic multitude shouting out praises to God was reserved for a group of humble shepherds on a hillside outside Bethlehem on the night that Emmanuel was born.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14

God With Us

Holiness with sinfulness. Wholeness with brokenness. Perfection with fallenness. God with us.

One of the greatest truths that defies our understanding, and one of the reasons we love God most, is because He has a desire and a commitment to be with us. He created us to be with Him. We then betrayed Him. We defected to another kingdom and joined the rebellion. Our communion with Him had to end. The Garden of Eden was closed for good. Paradise was lost.

But the story was the Author’s still and from the beginning, God had made a plan to be with us … so that we could be with Him. While proclaiming the curse upon the woman, God said that a serpent-crusher would one day come, a male child born of a woman but not a man.

God used Isaiah to fill in the picture a bit. He prophesied that a virgin would conceive and bare a child and call him “Immanuel,” God with us (7:14). Isaiah also wrote that this child would be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6). Clearly, this child would be Deity in human form.

But how would He secure our salvation? Isaiah also wrote what is called “the Gospel in the Old Testament” in chapter 53. This God-Man would die a terrible and lonely death in our place and for all of our sins. Hundreds of years later, Jesus was born, and after four years of amazing ministry and teaching revealing who He really was, “God with us” became “God instead of us.” The Creator allowed Himself to be killed by His own creation … so that we could be forgiven and once again be back together with God. We think thanks!!!

Thanks for Never Leaving Us

As Emmanuel prepared to finish His work here and return to heaven, He gave several precious promises to His disciples. He said He and the Father would send His Spirit to indwell them as a comforter and guide (John 14:16-18, and 16:6-15). As He commissioned the disciples, He also said, “I will be with you to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20). While He is not physically present with us as believers, His Spirit within us is our constant companion. He is still Emmanuel. “God with us” is now “God within us,” and He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us … never (Heb. 13:5).

In time, our physical separation from the Lord will be over. A few hours ago this precious lady, our dear friend Sarah, went to be with the Lord. She loved Him so much. God was with her through her walk on this earth, and now she is with Him in a fuller way. Faith has become sight. Her spirit has left her body and is present with the Lord. We will miss her, but we are so happy for her. She is more fully realizing her Emmanuel.

The Culmination of All Things – God With Us

Jesus said that one day He would come back for His own. “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). Notice that Jesus isn’t saying I will come take you to heaven, but rather take you to be with me – more Emmanuel talk.

Paul said that this return will involve a first and second step, a split second apart. Immediately after the resurrection of the justified, “we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“

It is said that some Christians would want to go to heaven even if Jesus wasn’t there. But heaven is incidental. Our God wants to be with us; it is part of His very nature and character, and for this attribute of His we need to give Him our extreme thanks this holiday season!

May this Christmas season be a time of reflecting on Emmanuel coming to be with us and may you receive His perfect peace as you become conformed to His image.

PS. The explanation of the two different ways of spelling is that Immanuel is used in the Old Testament and Emmanuel is used in the New Testament.

Thankful for Fifi

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Causing More Thanksgiving

This is Fifi!!

I met Fifi for the first time five years ago. She was a 7 Rivers Outreach missionary living on the farm. As we got into the work here in KwaZulu-Natal, I began to understand how valuable this little giant was to the team.

Born on the side of the road in Amahlongwa and facing abuse while growing up in the community around 7 Rivers, Fifi knew the people, the history, and the challenges.

At the age of 16, she trusted in Christ alone for her salvation. It was not easy, but she had watched her adopted father minister to others in home-based care, interpreting while her father shared the gospel with them. Her heart had been touched and softened. One day, she bowed to the Lord and received His precious gift of forgiveness of all her sins, from the cradle to the grave.

Fifi then went to Word of Life Bible Institute for a year to grow in her Bible knowledge and walk with Christ. Afterwards, she amazingly returned to 7 Rivers to work as a missionary, visiting homes and sharing the gospel predominantly with our nearby children. When others would typically run away from such a past, Fifi returned.

As believers in Jesus Christ, one of our motivations for sharing the gospel is that the more believers there are, the more thanksgiving will be given to God. Fifi has been a faithful evangelist in the valley for years now, speaking about Christ with her peers, running a kids’ soccer ministry several times a week, and helping me by interpreting our weekly evangelistic Bible studies with local marginalized women. As a result of her work, more people are giving thanks to God.

For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4:15

Pulling In Closer

I got the privilege of mentoring Fifi. We would meet to study God’s word together, memorize Scripture, talk about how the Bible was worked out in our daily lives, and close by praying together.

We must have gone through at least three to four books together. Godly, wise counsel often comes from good books. One great one that we worked through was “Putting Your Past in Its Place,” by Steve Viars. That is one we both would highly recommend.

Fifi is so edifying to me personally. I love to hear her pray. She has a heart for sharing the gospel and see people’s lives change.

Glorifying God in the Waiting Room

Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

Fifi had her share of disappointments, but God was always there, guiding and comforting her. We prayed often together that God would bring a godly man into her life if that was His will. I remember distinctly when she finally said that she was not looking anymore. She was going to just obey the Lord and work for Him and not worry about getting married.

Funny. Right after that, God brought Bongani into the picture. God often seems to do that. He wants us to yield to His choice, His time, and His ways.

Only God could have brought this couple together. She didn’t think he existed; he didn’t think she existed. But then there was a conference at which they met. So thankful for God’s ways and purposes.

They get married next month. So happy for them.

Thinking Thanks

As we approach the time Fifi will be leaving us, I wanted to express my thanks to God for this lady.

Fifi loved so many people in the community and helped them. Here she is giving Mabongi a ride.

Fifi interpreted faithfully for me as I taught the ladies through Colossians, then James, and now the Gospel of Mark. She wants the handout early so she can carefully prepare to use the right Zulu words. She takes God’s Word seriously and wants to be pleasing to the Lord in how she gets the meaning across.

But…..Fifi’s heart was with the kids. She loved the children and wanted them to be safe and to be able to hear about Jesus and the hope we have in Him. That is why she is so excited about the construction of the Thola Centre in the nearby village of Olwasini. 🙂

We had the privilege of having Fifi stay with us in the US for a short time and she was even a blessing to our daughter Elly, who designed the African dolls that we sell.

Thankful Admonition

So as we go through this season of wedding preparations, I wanted her to remember lessons we studied together when we memorized Colossians 3. I shared these seven reminders:

  • Set your mind on things above (vv 1-2)
  • Put on compassionate hearts…. forgiving each other (vv 12-13)
  • Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (v 15)
  • Be thankful (vv 15-17)
  • Speak and sing God’s Word to each other (v 16)
  • Submit and pray for Bongani (v 18)
  • Work heartily as to the Lord (v 23)

God is faithful through every season of life. We will miss our Fifi so much, but we are thankful for the new challenges that lie ahead for her and for us. God is faithful every step of the way until we finally get to see Him face to face.

“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!”

Henry Ward Beecher
(1813-1887)

Response to Angst?

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Eric Liddell

“Don’t go, Daddy!” The girls clung to their dad as he tried to go, walking towards the gangplank. Flo tried to think that it would only be a short time before Eric would join her and the girls in Canada. WWII had begun, and the roil in Europe and the Pacific was demanding many sacrifices from everyone.

The Japanese invaders had given foreigners in China the option to leave or to stay in “internment camps.” The Liddells had both felt that the Lord wanted Eric to stay and help with the work as much as he could, but Flo, expecting their third, and their two precious girls would head to Canada for safety.

Eric and Florence had met in China, both being from missionary families. Eric had used his athletic prowess to further the gospel. Although an Olympic champion, he chose to spend his life on the mission field in China, where he was born.

Eric Liddell would never see his dear wife and beautiful girls again. He died in the Japanese internment camp. I will not spoil it for you, but wow, this was a good biography.

How Flo Reacted

The news of Eric’s passing would be brought to Flo’s door in Toronto, Canada.

She had been able to have contact with Eric to a degree, but things had become more sporadic as the war progressed. There was such hope and vision of being together again in the near future. The news came as such a heavy loss. Eric had succeeded in being a humble, cheerful, and encouraging person who was full of optimism even in dire circumstances in that internment camp. Now she had to find a new normal without him. She had to provide for the girls. The mantle was daunting.

As I read this biography of a person David and I highly admired, I was impressed with the words that Flo penned shortly after his death.

“I have been numbed and overwhelmed by a sense of unreality – of pain – of fear for the future and then there has come welling up from within that power of faith which has carried me through. My faith has been wonderfully strengthened. In looking back I have so much to be thankful for. God has provided so wonderfully – we have been so happy and I know that He is working out His purpose and that good can come out of even this.”

Florence Liddell

The grieving process took its time with great challenges, but underneath were the everlasting arms of her Savior.

She chose to think thanks even when ambiguity and anxiety could have drowned all hope.

When reading about Flo’s response to the horrific news that her husband had passed away, I could not get over the grace that seemed to pour into, and then out of, her.

She utters her numbness and feelings of being overwhelmed, but she also expresses her faith being strengthened, and she notes how many things she is thankful for, like having enjoyed as much happiness in a few years as many couples did in a whole lifetime.

Two Heros

My husband and I have admired Eric Liddell for a long time. He is one of our heroes. His humble and kind way with believers and nonbelievers, his mediating disputes between people in the internment camp, his counseling of teens, and and his organizing activities for teens and children in the internment camp were evidences of his dogged commitment to Christ and to being Christlike.

When visiting our daughter and her husband in China back in 2018, we had the privilege of seeing the place where Eric died in that Japanese internment camp. It is in Weifang, China. There is a lovely Chinese memorial to all those who lived and died in that camp, and a special statue to Eric, whom the Chinese claim as the first person from China to win Olympic gold.

Learning more about Florence Liddell has given me fodder to have two Liddell heroes; not just Eric but his wife as well.

I wonder how I would have responded in similar circumstances? How would you have?

Fostering a thinkful habit of always looking for things for which to be thankful is beneficial indeed. In everyday life, it bolsters our perspective and strengthens our faith as we joyfully obey the I Thessalonians 5:18 command of giving thanks in all circumstances.

But when those once-in-a-lifetime heavy blows come, thinking thanks is a matter of life and death – of angst, bitterness, and even insanity on one hand, and of perspective, trust, and recovery on the other. Unless we have a relationship with the Sovereign One who can be trusted in all the unexpected (for us) events that come, we are doomed.

Challenge

So what about you? Do you have a heavy, big blow that has come into your life? Has it already passed? Perhaps it has not come yet? What are you doing to prepare yourself to weather the storm that surely will present itself?

Put into action today the pieces that build a strong foundation in your mind when the battle engages. It is almost impossible to start forming a godly habit as the bullets fly, the cannons flare, and the missiles howl. You must have forged those convictions before the combat begins.

Develop a daily habit of recording things for which you give thanks…. from the mundane to the big.

Exercise a Psalm 50:23 way of life:

“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me: to the one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God.”

Psalm 50:23

The DNA of Joy is Thankfulness

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What is DNA?

Virtually all living things have a programming code within themselves. It is what makes them who or what they are. You have it and I have it. It is, of course, deoxyribonucleic acid … better known as DNA.

DNA: a self-replicating material that is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.

Paul Tripp makes a bold statement when he states that “the DNA of joy is thankfulness.” The genetic makeup of joy is thankfulness.

We need to first come up with a good definition of joy. You can see the word “hap” in happiness, which is a feeling of pleasure based on happenings around us. It is a positive emotion responding to external stimuli. When outside circumstances become difficult, the positive feeling is gone.

Joy, in contrast, is like a hardy plant that grows based on processes taking place on the inside – the replication of billions of DNA. Like a spiritual evergreen that is rooted in the water of life, joy is a slowly growing positive contentment generated by the Spirit of Jesus inside the believer that is not a mere product of my circumstances. Joy generates an inward smile … not flashy spike of outward elation. When outside circumstances become difficult, the inward replication continues and even increases.

But what ideas is the Spirit using to generate this good and positive calmness in my heart and mind? John Piper writes: “Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the Word and in the world” (John Piper, Desiring God, “How Do You Define Joy?”).

First, the Spirit takes our minds to the Word of God, flipping through its pages to discover the steadfast love of the Lord for His people, His sovereignty over the odds, His ability to bring beauty out of ashes, and glory out of oppression. This builds our confidence in Him for our present struggles.

Second, if we give Him the chance, the Spirit also takes our minds through the world of our lives, our friends, family, and church community to search for His fingerprints, for answers to prayer, for so many things to be thankful for even in our struggles.

If you look at the Word and your world only on the surface, you will struggle to find the beauty of Christ and the splendor of His designs. This is often why over-busy people crash and burn when things go wrong; they don’t have time to search for Spirit-guided insights into the Word and the world. Spirit-led “th(i)nkfulness” requires reflection. The more you think and look for the beauty of Christ, the more DNA of thankfulness you produce … and it takes a lot of DNA to grow this tree of joy.

Carrying Th(i)nkfulness

Paul David Tripp gives us a poem in his book New Morning Mercies that explains how remembering to be thankful to God and all He has done can bring us inner joy:

I wish I always

carried it with me.

I wished it always

shaped the way

I look at life.

I wish it directed

my desires.

I wish it was

the natural inclination of

my heart.

I wish remembering

your boundless grace

would silence

my grumbling.

I wish my worship of you,

my trust of you,

my rest in you

would drive away

all complaint.

If my heart is ever

going to be freed of

grumbling

and ruled by

gratitude,

I need your grace:

grace to remember,

grace to see,

grace that produces

a heart of humble joy.

Paul David Tripp

How This Might Work Practically

Studying Psalm 107 helps to create joy’s DNA. Five times the writer encourages the reader to thank the Lord for His goodness and His steadfast love and His wondrous works to the children of men. He ends with: “Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.”

When we cultivate remembering God’s steadfast love for us, and rehearse all that He has given to us, we begin to wind up that DNA double helix of thankfulness that will produce joy. This is great for husbands and wives, dads and moms, at the end of an event or a weekend to call out, “OK, let’s rehearse the good things God did for us this weekend,” and then do a rapid “thinkful volley” back and forth. The remembering gives a rush of new DNA, building joy in us and inspiring us to trust Him for future days.

Life in the Scorched Earth

But sometimes a field fire just torches your tree. All joy seems lost. I am all too familiar with deep sorrow in these past six months having lost a sister, brother-in-law, dad, nephew and other precious things. How can I remember God’s steadfast love when I sit in ashes?

It is precisely when my circumstances are difficult that I need to remember the steadfast love of the LORD. Though He sent the fire and the tree of joy is gone, there is still the rootstock and the DNA of th(i)nkfulness is still replicating. The God of the fire is also the God of the living water underneath me. My God is still on the throne. He is trustworthy even when He allows hard things. He is with me and comforts me. He cares for me even through tears of sorrow.

With enough DNA, the little sprig of joy will pierce the blackened soil, and joy will begin its journey of growth and fullness reaching toward heaven.

:

Choosing to remember His steadfast love will genetically produce joy.

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