Title Upgrade of Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving)
Contents
(Habakkuk 3:16-19)
There are three attitudes to people's appreciation. The first is a person who is not thankful even though he has something to be thankful for. Such a person is less than an animal. The second is the person who is grateful only when there is something to be grateful for and is not grateful when it is not. Most people belong here. This is an ordinary appreciation that does not go beyond the usual level. The third is a person who is grateful even when there is nothing to be thankful for.
It shouldn't be the first one. In the second appearance, you become a normal person. No, most people get compliments for that. But thanksgiving to God is not enough. A mature believer should be able to give thanks beyond circumstances. The prophet Habakkuk is one such person. I gave thanks in a difficult and difficult environment, and I gave thanks in the absence of it. On Thanksgiving Day, I hope that it will be a time to upgrade our gratitude by thinking of Habakkuk's gratitude. What is his gratitude?
thanksgiving during tribulation
(16) “Because I have heard, my intestines trembled, and my lips tremble at the voice of his voice; I await the day of trouble, when multitudes come up against us, and corruption has entered my bones, and my body trembles in my dwelling place. “When Habakkuk preached these words, Egypt, which had been raging, lost its power, and the powerful Assyrian Empire was also destroyed by Babylon, a new power. Babylon did not leave Judea alone with its powerful army as a weapon. Rumors had already spread that it would soon be destroyed.
Habakkuk describes the situation at that time as his intestines trembling and his lips trembling. It felt as if his bones were rotting, and his whole body trembled. It is never a peaceful situation. But he does not forget praise and thanksgiving. It is written that this hymn was sung to the harp with a warrant. “This song is set to my harp for a warrant” (19)
It is not easy to sing hymns on the day of trouble and give thanks during war. But Habakkuk is doing just that. He is truly a mature man of faith. We need this mature faith today. Who can't thank you when everything goes well and peace is on your mind? If you can't do that, you can't be a person. If we praise and give thanks during tribulation, good results will come. [Romans 5:3,4] “We rejoice in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope.”
Our lives are not always filled with joy. But the Lord's will is always to give thanks. [1 Thessalonians 5:18] “In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” No one knows what our health will be, our business, or our children. But it is God's will that we should be thankful no matter what. When things go well, when they are prosperous, when they are blessed, no one gives thanks. Like Habakkuk, when things don't go your way, when disaster strikes when things are hard and difficult, like Habakkuk's prophet, I hope you live with gratitude.
thanks in the absence
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls” (17) he is thankful. Now Habakkuk has nothing. It's a must have, but it's not there. But thank you. Figs are food, and grapes are the main ingredient in wine, a beverage. Olive trees are essential oil, and plants are food. Sheep make clothes from their hair, and cows are the means of plowing and working. Also, sheep and cattle are sacrifices to God. At the time, these were necessities. There are no such things. But thank you.
If we use this expression as our expression, it will be like this. Rice is running out of the dock, there is no clothes in the closet, the company is bankrupt, the school grades are last, and the money is running out, but it means thank God. Anyone can be grateful when it is abundant and has everything. But to be grateful when you are not present is true gratitude. You should be grateful when you are there, but sincerely thank you when you are not.
When Jesus saw the widow putting two lepton into the treasury, he praised it. Two lepton is worth about a worker's daily wage. But the Lord said: [Mark 12:44] “They all put in out of their abundance, but this widow out of her poverty put in all that she had, all she had to live on.” Yes, the same 100,000 won is not the same for everyone. The people of the world see it as the same value, but God does not see it that way.
At a church in Gangnam, it is said that a check for 200,000 won is the main source of donations. Our church is dominated by 10,000 won, so our 10,000 won is equivalent to their 100,000 won. God knows this. It is even more valuable to be grateful when you are not there. No matter how difficult it may be, if you think about it, we still have a lot to be thankful for. Do you still have health, a family, and a church? Poet Myung-hee Song, a disabled person, said that God received love that others did not receive because they had no wealth, no knowledge, no health, but what others had, and sang that God is fair. It's up to you to think. Don't be grateful for what you have, but be thankful even if you don't have it.
thanksgiving for salvation
“I will rejoice in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he will make my feet like deer, and he will make me walk on my high places” (18:19). The only condition of thanks is God’s salvation. . Even though they hear the news of the tribulation and do not have anything, from now on, they will rejoice in the Lord, and they will praise and give thanks to God. It may be because our environment is difficult and difficult, and we do not have what we have to live with complaining and irritability. However, the root cause is not in external circumstances or possessions, but because we do not know God. If you find God right away and know who He is, you can be thankful in any circumstance.
Everyone, if you are unable to give thanks, pray and read the Word to understand God's heart. Then you will see how much there is much to be thankful for. Habakkuk discovered this. Those who think that money or health are the conditions of gratitude feel a crisis when money runs out, and become depressed when their health is poor. These conditions are always in motion. Therefore, in order to be thankful for everything, these conditions should not be the conditions for gratitude. When the unchanging Lord and salvation are the conditions, we can be thankful for everything.
Look at Job's confession. [Job 1:21] “The LORD gave, and the LORD took away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” If this is enough, there is nothing to be thankful for. The level of gratitude depends on how much you discover God. On this Thanksgiving Day, I hope that you will become believers who know and thank God more. [Romans 7:25] “I will give thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ; therefore with my heart I myself serve the law of God, and with the flesh the law of sin.” , let Jesus Himself be the condition of thanksgiving.
Dear saints,
Upgrade your appreciation this Thanksgiving. I hope it's not a thank you for doing well, but a thank you for not being able to. I want you to give thanks for not having to give thanks, not to give thanks for abundance. No matter how bad it is, no matter how bad it is, I hope that you believe and give thanks that God is still alive and becomes your savior. Those who have their eyes fixed on the world, and who want to give thanks in terms of what they see, cannot possibly be thankful for everything. Fix your eyes on God. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will please God with an upgraded thanksgiving this Thanksgiving.