by Lenore Buth
It's the season we get reminders on all sides about being thankful. For some of us, it's as if we know the words, but we've lost the music, the "music" of our emotions of joy and realizing the blessings of God in our lives.
If we're in a hard season of life, the phrase, "All things work together for good" sounds hollow or at least, hard to believe. In times like that sometimes we don't want to hear this whatever-it-is could possibly be for good. Yet that's exactly what the Apostle Paul--who knew a thing or two about suffering--wrote in Romans 8:28:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Perhaps that’s because of our limited vision
Years ago author Chuck Swindoll came up with a vivid description of how you and I view our lives. I don't have the exact quote, but here's the sense of it.
Imagine the whole of your life as if it were a passing parade.
You are behind a wooden fence that is so tall you can't see over it. All you can find to look through is one small knothole in the fence.
No matter how hard you try or change the angle of your head, all that's visible to you is what is directly in front of you. Your life is passing by in front of you but all you can glimpse is this day--this moment, really--in which you are living.
Now imagine your loving Heavenly Father, who watches over you, as if seated in a reviewing stand. He, who knows the end before the beginning, sees the entire parade of days in your life--and everything in them. He knows how the various elements in this "parade" are interconnected. How each one has its place in forming the whole of its procession.
Think about it
Here's what Psalm 139:16 says about what God sees:
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.
When we say to ourselves, "This makes no sense!" it's good to remember that we only have our little "knothole in the fence" by which to gauge. We cannot foresee what we'll need for that situation over there because we don't know what comes next.
But our loving Father does. What's more, our Best Friend Jesus walks with us all the way. When we lose heart, the Holy Spirit speaks hope and peace to our spirits.
Jesus came to earth to push back the darkness in whatever situation we're living through. As we walk with him, over time we grow wiser. Stronger. More grounded in our faith.
Is there a larger purpose? Yes, so we can pass on to others who need encouragement that we know it’s true that our faithful God gives strength for whatever comes and peace, even in the midst of the worst days.
Whatever our present mindset, it helps to keep our attention fastened on Jesus
Suppose we committed the simple, beautiful words of John 1:1-5 to memory. Then whenever our sure faith and confidence feels a bit unsure we can repeat them over in our minds:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
"Has not overcome it." Has not. Will not. Cannot.
Does that sound way too optimistic?
Tune out the endless speculation about the "dwindling numbers" of Christians. Facts and figures from around the world show something else. The Light of Christ is shining in the darkness.
The well-respected Pew Research Center website reports that as of 2015 an estimated 2.3 billion Christians (of all ages) lived in our world.
Just four years later, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity in Pennsylvania, upped the 2019 number of Christians to more than 2.5 billion individuals worldwide.
Now factor in the 2021 "World Population Clock," which presently numbers the population of the world at 7.9 billion people.
Mull those numbers over in your mind and do the math. Clearly, despite fierce opposition and hostility in so much of the world, the number of people who believe in Jesus keeps growing. Call it one more proof of the truth of John 1:5.
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
What if we kept this front-and-center in our minds?
Think how our outlook and our talk would change if we constantly reminded ourselves that Christianity is not dying out, but rather, growing. We wouldn’t be apologetic or on the defensive if others scoffed.
True, some family members and friends may not understand why we want to participate in worship services. Even when feeling misunderstood we can stay calm because Jesus' peace in our hearts quiets us. When we do voice our faith we do so with love, not judgment or criticism.
It is, after all, not in our power to argue someone into believing in Jesus. Besides, as Proverbs 15:1 tells us:
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Where will we keep our attention fixed?
Our mission is to shine his light in the darkness of this time, just as God's people have been called to do from the beginning. Especially in this season of every year, we center around God's great gift in sending Jesus as our Savior.
Our ongoing response is to rejoice and thank God for his grace. It is "grace" because we're not expected to earn it, only believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Every day of every year, despite what is or is not going on in our lives, we who follow Jesus live in the light of Christ.
Now let’s shine it forth!