Giving Thanks in Times of Desperation

Giving thanks in times of desperation is an experience few Americans understand. As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I’m considering how to give thanks for the past year. More than a family meal followed by a football game, Thanksgiving should move me to contemplate what God has done. How faithfully He has met me in the challenges and difficulties of daily life. How have I seen God as my provider, protector, and promise keeper? Has He revealed His sufficiency in new ways?

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 107:1

What Is My Story?

In Psalm 107, the psalmist gives thanks for God’s help and deliverance of the Jewish people. Through both trials and triumphs, he recounts God’s presence and faithfulness. In particular, Verse 2 caught my eye: “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story …” What is my story? When I speak of being saved from my sins and redeemed by God’s grace, do I list my trials and remember God’s deliverance? What tales of His faithfulness can I recount this year?

This past year, some events left my husband and I reeling. We would attempt to catch our breath and reset our course, only to discover another challenge coming our way. We have cried in desperation, but I know Jesus is always there, even when I can’t trace His hand. The writer of Hebrews reassures us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Years of walking with Him have proved I can trust Him for every need. Am I personally faithful to give thanks in times of desperation? Do I share the story of what Christ has done for me with others?

Giving Thanks in Suffering

Not long ago, my sister began to share with me the communication she receives from Christians in Gaza, as the result of a ministry she participates in. She has communicated with a man named Mohammed and his family since before he became a Christian. This intelligent, articulate man we affectionately refer to as Moh challenges how I see my priorities, my trials, and my practice of thanksgiving. In his messages, I see  Romans 5:3-5 being lived out in circumstances more dire than I can comprehend: “[W]e rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” I can have hope because God’s love is poured out in my heart.

A Testimony of God’s Grace

Moh became a Christian through a dream of Jesus calling to him and by reading the Bible. Many Muslims report visions and dreams that bring them to salvation. Moh gives testimony of God’s grace in his life, His power to protect and provide. Am I faithful to thank the Lord for the ways He works in my own life, for the ease of access to Bibles, churches, and other methods of studying His word?

This dear man explains that the women and children in his family move from house to house constantly. Moh’s own life has been spared at least four times. Friends offered him a place in their home which he didn’t accept. Now his friends and their home are gone, destroyed in rocket attacks, but he was spared. He hopes to build a small church and call it the “Church of the Lord the Protector.”

Caught in the battle between Hamas and Israel, these Palestinian Christians have lost everything they own, yet their faith is growing. Moh prays for my sister and those who join her in prayer, in spite of his own home being destroyed. Members of his family don’t even stay in the same area, so they won’t all die at once. He says, “We ask the Lord Jesus Christ that you and your honorable family will be well, in good health and wellbeing.”

Giving Thanks in Times of Desperation

Recently, Moh wrote: “The situation is very difficult: there is no water, food, bread, electricity or life in Gaza. There is no transportation. Pray for us. We ask the Lord Jesus Christ to protect us. For two days I did not see water. I say there is no life. If it were not for reading the Bible and praying for us. I wasn’t living. All this is thanks to the Gospel.” This is truly giving thanks in times of desperation.

Though he lacks the basic physical necessities of life, it is obvious that Jesus is the driving force of Moh’s life. Uncertain that he will live through the war, Moh strives to share the gospel with those around him. I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Am I a faithful witness to God’s goodness when my own life falls apart? When I struggle, do I boast of God’s care for me, or do I complain? Am I faithful to make the most of my own opportunities to talk about Jesus? Do I thank God for my church, my Bible study, my prayer group, and the ease with which we meet?

Giving Thanks in Fearful Times

“I don’t need money or anything,” Moh writes. “I need prayers, money just isn’t everything…Without the grace of the Lord, I would not be alive now. He protected me more than once. As I said, I worship a living and fearless God. I swear to you…that there is nothing in my heart but the Lord Jesus Christ. The best blessing in this life is for the heart to cling to the Lord Jesus Christ, and then you will have gained everything.” He encourages those who read his words and pray for him. He tells my sister to share what he writes so that others will pray and also come to know Jesus.

Moh’s text messages are reminiscent of Paul’s letters to the churches, and why not? He spends hours daily reading his Bible. Moh causes me to consider how easily I complain, how remiss I am in giving thanks in times of desperation, much less for simple blessings like food, water, shelter, and security. At one point, he wrote: “I know that the Lord Jesus is alive and present everywhere. He is our protector. He saved me more than once in this war. Every day I read the Bible. Is now a barrier between me and the missiles.” Do I neglect to return thanks for God’s protection from the spiritual missiles and dangers that threaten me on a daily basis?

The Sufferings of this Present Time

In a testimony about his daily life, Moh wrote: “Thank you and all the friends who did not forget to pray for us. We ask the Lord Jesus to be in the balance of your good deeds, Amen. I send my greetings and peace to all friends…We are not afraid. The land of the Lord Jesus Christ is a blessed land.” I cannot imagine a lack of fear under such conditions. I take so much for granted, forgetting how blessed I am to not have the uncertainties and deprivations that are common place for so much of the world.

Moh continues: “We say from the heart and raise our hands to heaven and pray for our Israeli brothers who died. We pray for mercy for them. We ask the Lord Jesus Christ to release the captives and heal the broken and wounded, Amen…The last thing I think about is that it was the Lord Jesus Christ who protected me. Jesus is the living God who is present everywhere in the world.” He says, “It is beautiful for the heart and soul, with happiness, joy and happiness. How beautiful is faith when the heart is purified of cruelty.” Moh is a living example of Romans 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

A Prayer of Thanks

Not long ago, Moh sent a beautiful prayer. I pray it might also touch your heart and teach you new ways to consider giving thanks to God this Thanksgiving: “Preserve me, O God, because I trust in You. Preserve me because I cannot protect myself. Preserve me because I cannot walk without you. Preserve me because I cannot see the way without you. Preserve me because I cannot make correct decisions without you. Preserve me because I am not determined to be independent of you, and I cannot manage. My body, my life, my work, and my family without you. I need your wisdom. I need your inspiration. I need your light to guide my feet. I need your psychological support. My family’s simple requests, which I used to fulfill. Many times, I feel like they are heavier than my ability.

“I don’t know about tomorrow, but you know. I don’t know myself, but you know me. I don’t know the people I deal with, but you know them. I need you, you are the light of my eyes, you are my intelligence, you are my wisdom, you are my strength, and you are my support. Protect me, O God, because I trust in you. I said to the Lord, ‘You are my master, my goodness, and there is nothing but you.’”

Amen, and amen.

A Thanksgiving Challenge

This Thanksgiving, may Moh’s attitude towards his desperate circumstances color the way you give thanks. May he challenge the way you pray. As it has done for me, may his testimony cause you to look into the Bible and seek to honor God with every moment of your life in the coming year. May you discover that giving thanks in times of desperation brings you hope, help, and joy.

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 107:43

 

Images:
Praying hands: iStock-1402981447
gaza 7491337: Hosny Salah from Pixabay
palestine-8012395_1280: Hosny Salah of Pixabay