Giving Thanks in a Pandemic

             It is nearly a year since we moved back to Newent.  We were just getting settled when lockdown happened.  It hasn’t been an easy time, not being able to do normal things like attend church, sing with others, visit and be visited by people, shop as and when we want to, and trying to be careful to stay safe with all the changing regulations.  In all these hardships and difficulties I have been challenged about how I am responding to the situation.   I have realized that I have often focused on myself, and consequently this has resulted in negative conversations that have not encouraged or built people up.

            Paul reminds us to “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).  It is the ‘all circumstances’ that has been going through my mind a lot recently.  The problems and difficulties associated with the pandemic are part of those ‘all circumstances’.  Am I giving thanks for all the circumstances that I find myself in?  The answer has been ‘NO!’  But as I have thought about it more I have been seeing lots of things that we can give thanks to God for.  That doesn’t nullify the hardships or difficulties, but it helps us to look at what we are facing in a different way. 

            What are some of the things that we can give thanks to God for?  It is easy to look back to the past and find things for which we are thankful – our salvation, our new life in Christ, the fellowship of the church, for family and friends – the list could go on as we think about it.  But the implication of Paul’s exhortation is that we should be giving thanks for the things in the ‘now’.   It is easy to think of all the negatives – we can’t meet as a church or sing together, we can’t entertain or have people (even family) in the home, and other restrictions, which can easily lead to complaining.  But Paul’s exhortation is to give thanks in ‘all circumstances’. So how do we do that?

            We need to begin by asking God to open our eyes, so that we can see the things that God is doing in our present situations.  It can also be helpful at the end of the day just to think through all that has happened that day, and see how God may have been part of those events.  For example, we may have enjoyed a church service online.  We can thank God for the technology that is now available freely that churches can use to communicate the message of God.  We can thank God for equipping members in church who are capable of putting programmes together, for those God has gifted to communicate the message, or sing, or communicate well with children.  We can thank God for the wider reach of an online service, and for all who listen who don’t know Christ yet.

            On a more personal note, we can thank God for the opportunities He may have given us to bless someone with a phone call, or to talk to a neighbour, keeping social distance.  We can thank God for His daily provisions and care, or for more time to do things that we weren’t able to do when life was so busy.  If we are going to be thankful, we need to be looking out to see what God is doing each day through the circumstances of our lives. 

            But there is another aspect to this.  James reminds us that “the testing of our faith produces steadfastness [or endurance]” (ch.1:3).  The implication is clear.  Life isn’t going to be easy, and so patience and endurance are needed that will require perseverance, not giving up easily, because the rewards are worth sticking at it for.  James says that we are to count it all joy when we meet these trials.  Another word we could use is to be thankful for it.  As we see beyond the immediate difficulty or hardship to what God will do for us or in us, we can learn to be thankful.  Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that all things are working out for our good, even if we don’t see the outcome until later.  We might not see the ‘good’ in a situation immediately; in fact, we might not even see the final outcome in this life.  Even when life seems to be treating us badly, God is still in control to bring out good at His appointed time.  In the meantime, we continue to trust God, thanking Him that he has not left us on our own, for He has promised never to leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  Peter in a similar way talks about our faith being tested, as gold in the furnace to get rid of the impurities so that it might be proved genuine (1 Peter 1:6-7).  So when we go through hard times or difficulties, we can be thankful, for God wants to prove us, mature us, and develop character through these times.  Let’s look up rather than down, and when we share with others, we can give hope and comfort as we share what God is doing in our lives, without discounting the hardships or problems we are going through.     

A Meditation on Psalm 118:19-21

            I was reading this psalm on Easter Sunday and verse 20 caught my attention.  This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.  I was intrigued as to what the gate of the Lord might be that the psalmist is asking to be opened to him in v.19.  My mind went to Good Friday.  Having cried out, “It is finished!” Jesus gave up His spirit (John 19:30), then the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matt.27:51).  This curtain that signified the separation of man from God was now opened for us.  Christ had dealt with our sin completely at that moment.  Hebrews reminds us that there is no longer any need for a sacrifice when our sin is forgiven.  Jesus our High Priest has dealt with every one of them on the cross.  Therefore we, who have been made righteous, can have confidence to enter God’s presence “by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body…” (Heb.10:17-20).  The Lord is now the ‘gate’ through whom we can enter into the presence of God. 

            So how does the psalmist say we should enter this ‘gate’ that the Lord has opened for us?  The two verses either side of verse 20 give us the answer.  The psalmist requests in verse 19 that the Lord open the gate for him, then he “will enter and give thanks to the Lord.”  While verse 21 gives the reason, “I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.”  His thanksgiving is because the Lord heard and saved him. 

            The psalm gives us the reason for his prayer that had prompted his thanksgiving.  The Lord had helped and saved him in his many trials and difficulties.  We too can enter through the ‘gate’ with thanksgiving and praise as we think about all that the Lord has done for us, not only in saving us, but also in His help and faithfulness in loving, caring and providing for our every need.  As the old hymn puts it, Count your blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.  This shouldn’t really surprise us for as Ephesians 1:3 tells us God the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  Let us learn to appreciate all that He has done for us, and respond with a thankful heart.