On Sunday at church my friend Rachael asked me how I was doing and since I’m never one to mince words, I told her I was miserable. Not a sad miserable or a mad miserable, but an I-can’t-stand-to-be-around-myself type of miserable. I was moody and irritable and it was ugly.
Her husband was there and he was noticeably uncomfortable. I could tell this was so weird for him and he didn’t know what to say. But I’m OK with my friends knowing my mess because I want to be trusted with theirs. And on the Sunday before Thanksgiving I told Rachael and her husband that I was a shrew. And I also told my friend Jenny because the pastor wasn’t there to squeeze my hand to indicate that it’s best if I stop talking.
I don’t know when the shrew-like symptoms set in, but they were in full effect last week when the pastor sinned against me and went to the grocery store and didn’t use the reusable bags. I lost it on him and the words that came out of my mouth were unsavory, kind of like the time I fell down the stairs. And I’ll leave it at that because I want you to like me as much as I like you.
Photo credit: Eastlyn Bright
Maybe you can relate, because there’s this dragon that lives in me and sometimes she rears her ugly head and then no one is safe, not even the little towns people. I was in a mood I couldn’t get myself out of and no one could tame the dragon.
The dragon shows up when the King hasn’t been around to keep the peace.
And then it was Wednesday and the pastor preached at the Eve of Thanks service. He preached that when we are thankful, all we have is all we need. He asked us to imagine a world where, when people asked us how we are doing we’d say, “I’m thankful” instead of “I’m sOoOoOoOoOoO BUSY!” or “I’m tired” or “I’m just a miserable shrew, thanks for asking.”
And the pastor read this:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will in Christ Jesus.
And then the dragon was gone. Thank you Jesus.
I swear there’s a brain in this pretty head of mine, but I admit I’m so confused every time the dragon reappears. I honestly never know why I’m miserable until I’m out of it. And then I realize I’m miserable because I’m focused on me.
And as we enter into holy territory, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s time to slow down. It’s time to focus on what’s important. It’s time to take my eyes off me and put them on the One that matters. See, if we aren’t intentional about what we focus on, our brains will focus on the million advertisements and blinking lights and we will focus on what we don’t have. Big businesses profit off us thinking we don’t have enough and we aren’t enough.
Jesus says that He came so that we can have abundant life. So if Jesus came so that I can have abundant life, when I’m not paying very much attention to Jesus, the logical inference is that life won’t feel so abundant. If I don’t obey what He says, then I’m not going to have life abundantly. It will always feel like something is missing.
The root of the issue is that I got lazy and my Bible sat opened but unread for a few days too long. But a few years back, God (or the eHarmony algorithms) knew what I needed and made no mistake in bringing the pastor and I together. So the pastor brought the Word, and with it would come life abundantly once again.
Friend, whether you are in the pews on Sunday morning or not, these ancient words are for you. And praise God they’re for me, too, if I can only remember to obey them. Lean in, because this is God’s will for you:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will in Christ Jesus.
Rejoice Always: God wants us to take our eyes off us. It’s not about me, and it’s not about you. When we rejoice, we recognize that there is something bigger than us that deserves our praise. Happiness comes to us from outside factors, but joy bubbles us from within and is the lens through which we see the world. Joy comes from within and isn’t dependent on outside factors.I will choose to rejoice, or continually choose joy over and over again. I won’t sit back and wait for it to come, I will rejoice because in this season we celebrate that a Savior is come.
Pray Continually: You don’t need to make it flowery and you don’t need to use long words, God’s not into us faking it. It doesn’t have to sound good, but it does have to bare your heart. Maybe if I confessed to God that I was feeling empty and frustrated, I wouldn’t have unloaded on Rachael and her unsuspecting husband. In this season, pray with me. Let’s pray that our eyes and ears will be attuned to the broken, so that God can use us to speak love, show grace, and extend abundant and illogical mercy.
Give Thanks: This goes back to my Hannah posts. We can’t give thanks if we think we are the reason for our success. May we remember where our gifts come from. They come from God. May we remember why we are here. You exist so that you can be loved by God. In this season I will be thankful that I am part of the greatest love story ever told. Our lives, mine and yours, friend, are fleeting. Tomorrow isn’t promised. 200 years from now no one will remember my name or your name. No one will care about our moody days. My story won’t be remembered, so I want to be sure to be part of God’s story.
So let’s rejoice, pray, and thank. And in these commands, there is so much to be thankful for this Thanksliving. 2000 years ago a tiny baby came into this world whose heart beats for mine. His tiny hands would be pierced to prove it. Yes, it’s time for Thanksliving.
