Why a Christian is Thankful

 by Pastor Stephen Alexander, J.D.  

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Excerpts from a Thanksgiving sermon on what Christians are thankful for.

God promises us, in the Bible, no easy life or days without trials, troubles, difficulties and temptations. HE never promises that life will be perfect, though His goal for His children is, "Be ye perfect as your heavenly father is perfect". (Matt. 5:48). HE does not call His children to a playground, but to a battleground. And, in living life as ‘aliens' on this battleground, planet earth, it is the will of God that men, women, and children should be thankful and have "peace and joy in believing".

It is notable that Jesus Christ, during His last 24 hours alive on earth, spoke more frequently of peace and joy than in all the rest of His life combined (as recorded in the Gospels). I find that one of the most powerful testimonies to the reasonableness of believing the Bible is the fact that belief in it's truths results in, and continually creates in the heart, abiding peace, abundant joy, and swelling thankfulness.

One the eve of His Crucifixion, Jesus Christ was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, hated by the world, abandoned by all of the disciples except John, mistreated by the Roman soldiers, convicted by Pontius Pilate via ‘kangaroo court', and was about to suffer virtually every physical and mental indignity possible in human experience. He knew that within 24 hours He would be nailed to a cross, and He was in such agony as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemene, that blood oozed from the pores of His skin; yet it was in this very 24- hour period, which has been called the "darkest night in human history", that Christ spoke, for the first time, about His own joy: "'These things have I spoken unto you,' He told His disciples, ‘that My joy might be in you, and that your joy may be made full'" (John 15:11).

What provided Jesus Christ with joy (the joy described by Peter as "joy inexpressible and full of glory") in those last hours before His great ordeal? The answer: Faith!!! Peace and Joy come through "believing". Christ, as a Man, had these qualities because He believed. He had them because of what He knew, what He was sure of. And, this is the basis of all faith…."the evidence of things not seen".

John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, the world's best-seller next to the Bible, wrote these words during the final 24 hours of his life:

"I see myself now at the end of my journey; my toilsome days are ended: I am going to see that Head which was crowned with thorns, and that Face which was spit upon for me. I have formerly lived by hearsay and faith; but now I go where I shall live by sight, and shall be with Him in Whose company I delight myself."

Have you ever noticed how the Apostle Paul opens letter after letter with the prayer that his fellow Christians, those to whom he penned his epistles, might enjoy peace from God? Remember that the cities in which these small church congregations existed and labored were pagan: in all likely hood they were steeped in idolatry, intellectual egotism, and sensuality; yet, Paul reminds this minority of believers that because they are justified by faith, they can have "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Writing to those who were utter strangers to political or workplace, neighborhood or even family peace, Paul assures them that "the peace of God, which passes all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) was theirs through faith in Christ Jesus. And later, as we know, so many of these believers were to demonstrate this truth by surrendering their lives….without panic or struggle….for the faith they held dear.

One who held his faith most dear over 20 years ago was the Presbyterian missionary to Beirut, Lebanon, the Rev. Benjamin Weir. He was kidnapped by Shiite Muslims and held in the most depressing of environments for 16 months. He had no view of trees out a window, and blindfolded most of the time, he had no view at all. His hands were manacled so that he had no freedom to use them to explore his usually dark cell. Benjamin Weir had zero control over his schedule, his food, or anything else in his daily routine. Yet even in these harsh circumstances he was able to persevere and be thankful because of his faith. He had no one to call on but God Himself. Here is his thumbnail sketch of part of one day in prison:

"I awoke refreshed by my nap. What other gifts would God show me today in addition to sleep, a blanket, and a spirit of resistance and survival? Once again I lifted my blindfold and began examining the room. What was here that could bring me close to the sustaining presence of God? I let my imagination have total freedom. Looking up, I examined an electric wire hanging from the ceiling. The bulb and socket had been removed so that it ended in an arc with 3 wires exposed. To me, those wires seemed like 3 fingers. I could see a hand and an arm reaching downward…like the Sistine
Chapel in Rome, Michelangelo's fresco of God reaching out His hand And finger toward me, reminding me, saying, ‘Benjamin, you're alive. You are mine; I've made you and called you into Being for a Divine Purpose.' What else? I began counting the horizontal slats of the shutters
Outside the French doors. There were 120 of them. What could these
horizontal pieces of wood stand for, so many of them? That's it!!!
Many of them, a crowd, a cloud of witnesses that the Bible speaks
of, past and present, who through times of trial have observed and
often experienced the faithfulness of God……
Then my eyes lighted on 2 white circles near the ceiling, one on the
right-hand wall, the other on the left. Everybody in Lebanon knows
what they are, plastic covers for electrical connections. Yet what
could they be for me? What comes in a pair? Ears! They were the
Ears of God. The LORD hears the groaning of the saints. ‘So, listen
to me, dear God; I also surrender to Your care, Your will!"
By the end of the day, Weir was humming the hymn, "Count your
Many blessings, name them one by one." He counted: health, life
Food, mattress, pillow, blanket, his wife Carol, his family, faith, hope,
Prayer, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Father's love. That day Benjamin
Weir totaled 33 things to be thankful for. And in the process of
‘reviewing his blessings' he found that his feelings of fear, and help-
lessness had melted away. As the light through the shutters began to
fade, he relaxed and began to get ready for the night, thankful.

We now go back 150 years to another one who held her faith most dear, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe. At age 19, she wrote these words to her brother:

"I have never been so happy as this summer. I began it with more suffering than I ever before have felt, but there is One Whom I daily thank for all that suffering since I hope it has brought me at last to rest entirely in Him."

When Mrs. Stowe was 73, absorbed more than ever with Jesus Christ, she penned:

"This winter I study nothing but Christ's life; it keeps my mind steady, and helps
me bear the languor and pain of which I have more than usual this winter."

Mrs. Stowe gave birth to 6 children. In 1849 she lost an infant during a cholera epidemic. Husband Calvin was off on business and she buried the little one alone. In 1857 her oldest son, Henry, drowned in the Connecticut River during his freshman year at Dartmouth College. Her youngest son, Frederick, never recovered from the physical and psychological wounds he received during the Civil War as a soldier in the Union Army, dying in 1870. Daughter Georgiana died in 1887 after years of mental instability and abuse of morphine. Mrs. Stowe's husband Calvin had died in 1886, just one year earlier. Four years later, at age 80, in 1891, Mrs. Stowe wrote of the "inconceivable loveliness of Christ," and expressed her devotion with these words:

"Tis' joy enough, my all in All, at Thy Dear Feet to lie; Thou wilt not let me lower fall, and none can higher fly."

Sadly all who have rejected Jesus Christ and His offer of Eternal Life through His blood which was shed close to 2,000 years ago on Calvary's Cross, all who have thrown off faith in God, who have abandoned belief in the Word of God, may have everything except peace, joy and thankfulness. The biographies of unbelievers, atheists, and agnostics and their deathbed final words show the lacking of these qualities which are the comfort for and testimony of those who believe. Let us examine the ending of a few of the deaths of the unbelievers which history has recorded:

1. Thomas Hobbes, famous English philosopher (1588-1674), "Leviathan".
This cultured and clever skeptic corrupted many of the great men of his
Era. Listen to the hopelessness of his final words: "If I had the whole
World, I would give it to live one day. I shall be glad to find a hole to creep out of the world at. About to take a leap in the dark."
2. Italian leader of late 1400's, early 1500's, Cesare Borgia: "I have provided in the course of my life for everything except death, and now, alas, I am to die unprepared."

3. Talleyrand, Napoleon's Foreign Minister and later Foreign Minister To Louis XVIII, was well-known for his infidel leanings. At his death
bed, King Louis asked Talleyrand how he felt. He replied, "I am
suffering, Sire, the pangs of the Damned."
4. Voltaire, the noted French infidel, used his pen and great intellect to
attempt to retard and even destroy Christianity. He once boasted,
"In 20 years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the Edifice it took 12 Apostles to rear." (Shortly after his death, his house, ironically, became the depot where Bibles were printed and distributed by the Geneva Bible Society) The nurse who attended the dying Voltaire said "For all the wealth in Europe, I would not see another infidel die." His physician said that Voltaire's last words to him were most desperate, crying out, "I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you ½ of what I am worth, Doctor, if you will give me 6 months more of life. Then I shall go to hell; and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!"

By contrast, here are a handful of the lives of God's children and their experiences as they passed from here into eternity:

1. Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) was a Missionary to Burma, privileged to see hundreds converted to Christ. Broken in health, he died while making a voyage to the Isle of Bourbon. As he breathed his last, he said to those around him on board the ship: "I go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school, I feel so strong in Christ."
2. George Herbert, English poet (1593-1633), said to friends gathered
round his bed: "I shall be free from sin and all the temptations and anxieties that attend it: and this being fact, I shall dwell with men made perfect….dwell where these eyes shall see my Master and Saviour."
3. The dying Alexander Hamilton, mortally wounded in his pistol duel with
Aaron Burr, said: "I have a tender reliance on the Mercy of the Almighty, through the Merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to HIM for Mercy," and he breathed his last.
4. Famous hymn writer, Sir Isaac Watts, said, "It is a great mercy that I have no manner of fear or dread of death. I could, if God please, lay my head back and die without terror this afternoon."
5. As Martin Luther breathed his last, he repeated John 3:16 and this verse from Psalm 68: "Our God is the God of Whom cometh Salvation. God is the Lord by Whom we escape death." With his hands clasped together, and without a feature being disturbed, this Mighty Man of God ended his earthly pilgrimage.
6. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) lived near his Bible, which he quoted from numerous times in his plays and dramas. He died relatively young at 52, his last will and testament telling posterity much of his faith in God: "I commend my soul into the Hands of God my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting; and my body to the earth, where of it is made."
7. William Carey, the "Father of Modern Missions" and first missionary to India, said to a friend on his deathbed, "When I am gone, say nothing about Dr. Carey; speak about Dr. Carey's Savior."
8. Dr. Zingier, a renowned professor of Medicine at Basel, Switzerland, lived in the light of Eternity. His last words were: "I rejoice, yea, my spirit leaps within me for joy, that now the time at last is come when I shall see the Glorious God face to face; Whom I have by Faith longed after, and after Whom my soul has panted."

Thankfulness, Peace, Joy, and other Fruits of the Spirit come into our lives through the facing of trials of many kinds in God's way, knowing that the testing or trial of our Faith develops Perseverance and Patience, that we may become Mature and Complete, not lacking in anything. The Apostle Paul's life in the prison at Rome must have been growing in all of these qualities as he penned Philippians from the dungeon: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made know unto God. And the peace of God, which passes (transcends) all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Yes, Christians are very thankful people. In conclusion, let us review some of the reasons why:

1. We are thankful, because our God transforms pain, using it to teach and strengthen us, if we allow it to turn us toward Him.2. We are thankful, because our God identifies Himself with the poor and the suffering, the broken and contrite of heart. He draws near to those in such condition, those often ignored by a cold and self-centered society. 3. We are thankful because He promises supernatural help to nourish the Spirit, even though sometimes our physical suffering may go unrelieved.
4. We are thankful because God has joined us. HE has hurt and bled and cried and wept and suffered. HE has dignified for all time those who suffer, by sharing their pain.
5. We are thankful because God is with us now, ministering to us through His Holy Spirit and through members of His Body, the Church, who bear us up and encourage and comfort us for the sake of Jesus, our example.
6. We are thankful, because we know that God is Waiting, wanting none to perish, and yet gathering the armies of good. One day HE will announce to His Son, the Lord Jesus, "It is time to go," and the Armies of Heaven will follow HIM. And HE will tread the winepress of the fury of the Wrath of God Almighty, for the Lamb will overcome them because HE is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings. And the Full Victory will be ushered in, and God will create for us a new, incredible world, where pain shall be no more and all tears shall be wiped away."
(from The Revelation of Jesus Christ)

If anyone is reading this article or hearing this message who has not fully understood until today who Jesus Christ is, it is my prayer that today you might receive the gift of faith from His hand, that you might believe in HIM and be able to say with those who have trusted in Jesus over the centuries, "Death be not proud, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But THANKS BE TO GOD, which giveth us the victory through our Lord JESUS CHRIST. " (I Corinthians 15: 55-57)

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