Not feeling thankful?

In his autobiography, entitled Mercies of a Covenant God, 19th century English pastor John Warburton tells the story of how God, on one occasion, delivered him and his family. 

They were poor and penniless at the time.  Not only that – his family was facing the work house, because of a huge debt they owed.  There they would be sent to live and work until they paid off the debt they owed.

Just when the payment was required for this gigantic debt, the Lord provided the Warburton family with the exact amount they needed down to the final penny.

Warburton was so moved by being unexpectedly delivered at the 11th hour in such an amazing manner, that he went to his church to give thanks to God for answered prayers. 

However, as this pastor sat in the church intending to give thanks to God, he was troubled by his own thoughts.  Rather than being able to thank God for what he had received, he was somewhat angry at God for not giving their family even more.   He couldn’t shake that feeling of discontent.   Warburton writes:

“I walked to and fro, begging and crying for a thankful heart.  But I could no more thank God for what He had done, than I could create a world.   I began to find my heart as hard as a millstone.  And that day I learned that thankfulness is as much a gift from God, as the gift of money I had received.”

Ever been there?   I’m not here to chastise John Warburton. Truth be told, I’m too often sitting in the same pew thinking, “I have it pretty good, Lord.  But I’d really like a little more.”   Shame on me!

On the other side of the table, there are folks who are thankful, even though they have little reason.  There is Jonah who prays with thanksgiving as he sits inside a giant fish (Jonah 2:9).  Jesus took bread and gave thanks . . . on the night when He was betrayed (1 Cor. 11:23).  Paul gives thanks to God in the midst of a terrifying storm on a ship (Acts 27:35). 

The lesson?   Obviously, having a heart that is truly thankful to the God of the Bible, has little to do with our pile of stuff.  Having a heart of thanks also has little to do with our present circumstances.  Otherwise, why would we ever run across, as I sometimes do, a person who is nearing their last breath due to cancer, giving thanks to God with their final words?   

A little known prophet with a hard-to-pronounce name might be helpful here.  Around 600 BC, Habakkuk writes in Chapter 3 verse 17 “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.  I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”   

For Habakkuk, thankfulness was not about stuff or circumstance.  True and deep thanksgiving comes from knowing who we are and whose we are.   It flows from knowing the God of my salvation.

Where do we find this God of salvation?  Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him.”

Knowing God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus, we can always say “O give thanks unto the Lord – for He is good.”  Psalm 118:1

John Lehenbauer, Pastor

Christ Lutheran Church & School, Perry

christlutheranperry@gmail.com