One of the questions that many Christians secretly ask themselves ( and non Christians for that matter) is:
“Why is it that I am told to thank or praise God when good things happen to me but not blame God or get angry with Him when bad things happen to me?”
This is indeed a deep, sometimes complex, question. We know we should be thankful – I think all of humanity knows this on some level – but what do we do with the bad stuff in our own personal lives? Just sweep it under the rug? Blame it all on Satan?
Even if we did blame Satan for the bad things, we know that nothing happens in this world without God allowing it. Satan does not have free reign to do as he wishes – see the Book of Job.
Its worth noting here though , that man does have free will and many of society’s problems come from that. Bono made a good point when speaking about the recent African Famine - "You can blame God (if you want) for drought, but famine is a man made thing."
However, today we are dealing with our own personal lives.
My dad constantly encourages us to “Thank God” or “Praise God” . While sometimes, admittedly , I find this annoying ( I love you Dad ) , he believes firmly that this is an extremely important part of the Christian life and living victoriously. And I believe that when my dad does decide to share advice, its definitely something worth considering.
The verse he most often references when speaking about this topic is 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which begins:
“In everything give thanks..”
and continues : “… for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
I’ve heard the verse many times before ( as you may have as well). However when I thought of it in relation to the question that begins this note – the idea of praising but never blaming God – I realized it said “In everything..”
Perhaps the answer to this problem is not that we should repress all of our thoughts and feelings when bad things happen or even just blame Satan – perhaps the secret is in this verse, this phrase, “In everything give thanks”.
Even the bad stuff.
In this verse God is not asking me to be thankful FOR everything ( ie bad things) but He is asking me to be thankful IN everything. To me this means more of a general thankful attitude in whatever situation you find yourself in founded on your trust in God's ultimate love and goodness.
I'm definitely not trying to address the entire topic of human suffering or to over-simplify it - just looking at this particular question and verse, which is part of the whole.
I don’t have all the answers to bad things that have happened to me or my family, but I think this verse has indeed made a point…. Even in the bad stuff – give thanks to God, not because you are enjoying it but because you know and/or believe that He is using it for some purpose , perhaps known only to Him, perhaps never known to us until the day we meet Him.
He loves to be trusted. Even if we never find out – it still says to give thanks in everything……
So now when I think of this question, I think not so much in terms of " being thankful for the good but ignoring the bad". I try to think of thanking…. in both.
Is it easy? You know the answer to that…. But it is what we are called to. And you know what? It seems to indeed be very beneficial in my daily life.
Maybe my dad is on to something…
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For a bit more on this topic see Life is hard. God is good. So what's up?
Sarah Groves - Eyes on the Prize:
“And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to (praising) God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.”
Acts 16:23-26
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12-13
