This week we heard from some families who call Rockhills their church home. They shared their "stories of thanks" for this week of Thanksgiving. These stories were not all rainbows and sunshine. There was a lot of pain, stress and hardship in the sharing. Specifically, Tim and Heather Plank have had to stop, change and rearrange their entire lives and priorities because of a cancer diagnosis Heather had about a year ago. However, they invited God to make the journey with them from the very beginning . They told their story of His faithfulness in showing up for profound change and growth in ALL areas of their life....not just regarding the cancer.
In each of the stories shared: Johnny & Brooklin, Charlie & Joe, Megan & Peter and Tim & Heather, there was a theme that was repeated: Noticing and being grateful to God. It does not necessarily mean we thank him FOR the hard places, but IN the hard places. The other theme that emerged was thankfulness for the people of God - - the Body of Christ. This should not surprise us. Throughout scripture, there is a theme of "remembering" God's faithfulness and being grateful.
As Christians, gratitude is a spiritual practice, but it’s not just a Christian idea. Even the secular world sees the benefits of being grateful. In his book Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, Dr. Robert Emmons recounts his research to see the effect of thankfulness on everyday life. In one study, he divided participants into three groups, and asked each to make weekly entries in a journal over 10 weeks. Individuals in the first group was asked to write down five things that happened that they were grateful for from the week before; the second group was asked to write down five hassles from the previous week; and the third group was asked to simply list five events from the prior week.
The gratitude group didn’t necessarily list major events or material blessings but mentioned things like seeing the sunset through the clouds or experiencing the generosity of friends. The hassles group mentioned things like paying taxes or coming home to a messy kitchen. The third group just listed things they had done.
The results of the study were startling. Those in the gratitude group felt 25% happier than the other two, were more optimistic about the future, felt healthier and less stressed, and even slept better. Nothing in their lives had changed - not counseling, not medicine, not exercise, not circumstances. They had simply found things to be grateful for. These results were sustained weeks and even months later.
Emmons discovered that gratitude, which he says is "wanting what we have," can measurably change our lives.
INVITATION: How do you cultivate noticing and being grateful in your life? How might your practice of gratitude vacillate between the good times and the inevitable valleys in life? We can ask the Lord to give us grateful hearts. We can journal what we are thankful for each day. We can choose to focus on common blessings like a brisk fall day, or a hot cup of coffee, or a life-giving conversation. All those things can help reframe our perspective. Sometimes reframing is huge. In fact, it can actually help create new neuro-pathways in our brain. Are there invitations from the stories shared this week to enter into gratefulness in some specific ways? Perhaps during this Thanksgiving week? Perhaps during the Advent/Christmas season which is upon us; perhaps in the new year that is right around the corner?
MONDAY: Psalm 107:1-2: This Psalm praises God's deliverance of the Hebrew people from exile and the perils of the desert and chains of their oppressors. How have you experienced deliverance recently? Would you consider writing a thank you note to God about that as a way of prayer today? Sometimes writing helps us engage our brain and access emotions that are otherwise difficult to access. Many people make it a regular spiritual practice to write their prayers. Consider if that might be helpful in your spiritual life. Maybe it's a journal. Maybe it's notes on your smart phone. Either way, consider if writing might be a spiritual practice that might be helpful in your life with God.
TUESDAY: I Thessalonians 5:16-18: Perhaps more than anything else, Christ followers often express a desire to "know God's will." Consider what this verse says about that. Can you trust God with this? Luke 16:10 says: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much..." Could God be inviting you into the "little things" mentioned in I Thessalonians before He reveals the "big things?"
WEDNESDAY: Matthew 11:28-30: Heather Plank mentioned this verse in regard to her hard cancer journey. What burden are you trying to carry? Is it time to FULLY surrender it to Jesus? How might you visually (or perhaps even some type of tangible exercise) place that burden at the foot of the cross? Tim Plank pointed out it's sometimes difficult to not go back to the cross and pick up your burdens again after you have left them there for God to handle. Is there a concern or burden in your life you keep trying to carry and control on your own?
THURSDAY: Ephesians 1:2-6: Slowly read these verses. Consider saying them out loud. What gratitude rises to the surface from these verses? How might you pray with that today and in the days and weeks to come? How are you at seeking out God's presence.....even in the wilderness?
The pilgrims did just that. When the settlers celebrated the first Thanksgiving, all but three families had dug graves in the hard New England soil to bury a husband, wife, or child. Half the Pilgrims died from disease and starvation — no one was untouched by tragedy. And yet despite these hardships, Governor Bradford declared a day of thanksgiving towards God to acknowledge and be grateful for what they had. They chose to be grateful for what they had rather than focus on all they had lost.
The Pilgrims had to look for blessings. Actively and deliberately. Their thanks was not based upon pleasant circumstances but rather on the understanding that God was to be thanked in adversity as well as in prosperity. Their gratitude was not a positive thinking façade, but rather a deep and steadfast trust that God was guiding all their circumstances, even when life was difficult.
How might these verses help you in the wilderness?
FRIDAY: I Peter 1:1-12: If you found out today that you had inherited a million dollars from a rich relative, what difference would it make to the way you live? Be specific.
You DO have an inheritance - and it is worth infinitely more than a million dollars! You are invited to write down every word or phrase from these verses that speaks of the riches you have in Jesus Christ. Consider repeating....several times: "This is my inheritance. It can never perish, spoil or fade." What difference will this knowledge make in the way you live? Be specific.
SATURDAY: I Chronicles 16:34: How have you experienced, seen and known God's love in this past year? How would you like to experience it in the days and weeks to come? Throughout Scripture Jesus asks others, "what do you want me to do for you?" How would you pray into that question today?