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True Thanksgiving

As we come to a time of Thanksgiving, when culture is pushing us to gluttony and commerce, it is good that we step back and recognize the great, loving care our Father has taken of us. After all, the very name, “Thanksgiving” implies that there one to whom we owe thanks! However, perhaps your life has been like mine this year, and so it is not always easy to be thankful because of trials, disappointments, and struggle. If that is you, look with me at the words of David in Psalm 34, and perhaps you will find—as I did—ample reason to give thanks.

Psalm 34:15, 17-19
15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears towardtheir cry.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all. (ESV Translation)

What a great promise from our Lord! He sees the struggles and afflictions of his people! He is not surprised or caught off-guard by what happens to us. Instead, in v17 He hears our cries, and He promises deliverance. Yet even reading that promise, we find ourselves again in a struggle to believe if that promise is true. After all, we know from our own experiences and the experiences of others that God doesn’t always end the hardship or abate the trials. Sometimes, often times, the trials appear to “win.” We all know this, and we struggle against it. Often we use the language of Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” to soften the doubts, but our questions remain.

In this Psalm, however, David—a man acquainted with trials, difficulties, sorrows, and disappointments—reminds us of the truth of living in covenant with the God of Israel. David answers the logical question of v17—why doesn’t God always deliver us from trials?—with good theology! Verse 18 tells us that God’s people are never alone in their trials, for “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” God’s presence is the deliverance promised in v17.

The beauty of Christianity is not that God promises our best life now, but that He promises a life with Him!  As we plod the path of difficulty in a foreign land the Lord is with us through the gift of the Holy Spirit earned by Christ. Based on that reality Scripture can have the audacity to proclaim v19; the afflictions of God’s people are many, but God’s presence is the deliverance, for we know that the work of Christ in fulfilling the Covenant of Grace has made us righteous and qualified us to be with God forever. Ultimately, God does work all things for our good, in Christ.

So this year, as you count your blessings and give thanks to God Almighty, be sure to recognize the ultimate gift for which we should give thanks. Jesus Christ left the glories of Heaven to walk a path of suffering with and for us! He fulfilled the requirements of God and then was lynched for our crimes, but God brought him back from the dead, defeating both sin and death. Then, as the resurrected and reigning King, Jesus gave his subjects the Holy Spirit to comfort them and to seal their entry in God’s eternal kingdom. That is the Gospel, and of all things, for it we should constantly be thankful!