Thanksgiving Thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving!

1 You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. 2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.4 And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.  - Isaiah 12:1-5

Here we are reminded that God’s WRATH was upon us and has been turned away from Jesus’ followers by His death on our behalf and this has been confirmed by His resurrection from the dead. He SAVED us by FAITH alone. We are FREED FROM FEAR, have endless JOY, GIVE THANKS continually, and CALL ON HIM because of this. We want to TELL ALL THE WORLD what HE HAS DONE, and it is FOR HIS GLORY ALONE! 

For all of this and so many blessings and gifts of His grace, we give thanks today.

Thank You

THEOparadox recently passed the 3 year mark, and I want to take a moment to say a sincere "thank you" to the folks who read, comment, and link to this blog.

First, to all of you who read this blog, THANK YOU. It is an honor to have these articles and resources considered thoughtfully and used for the glory of our great God. Even if you read with skepticism or to disagree, I am grateful that God uses anything here for your good and blessing.

Second, to those who take the time to comment, THANK YOU. It is always encouraging to know that a post has edified a brother, or sparked further thought. It is even encouraging to be corrected and challenged. Commenting requires real thought, and your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated.

Third, to those who link here . . . THANK YOU! THEOparadox receives many visits from search engines, and your links are part of the reason for that. My hope and prayer is that God will use the site to help spread the knowledge of Christ, and to encourage solid Biblical theology, inspiring deeper delight in Christ and stronger service for Christ.


Here is a quick sampling of some sites that link here:

An Open Book - deep thoughts by Matt Rose
aprilNandy - April and Andy Miller will encourage you
Baptism and the Big Picture - Matt Viney explores baptism, apologetics, culture, and all things Biblical

God Does Exist, All Know it - presuppositional apologetics by Mike A. Robinson

Ma's Blog - the musings of a child of God by His Sovereign Grace, wife, homemaker, homeschooler, and mother of six
Pericope de Adultera - defending the canonicity of John 8:1-11


Many others could be added. However, I don't think I've previously mentioned any of the sites listed above.

All of the thanksgiving and praise ultimately go to God alone. How immeasurable is His grace! How unfailing are His mercies! Soli Deo Gloria.

Thank You for the Bitter Trials, They Work for My Good

Hezekiah's prayer after his recovery from imminent death is worth reflecting upon this Thanksgiving. Hezekiah thanked God for the bitter trial he suffered, and recognized that God had used it for his good. Sometimes we have plenty of prosperity and enjoyment to thank God for. At other times it seems we have only trouble, sorrow, and affliction. But we can thank God for these, as well, for they are His tools to make us in the image of His dear Son. The Son who suffered with us, and for us. 

I'll never forget the moment I recognized that my most bitter and vexing affliction - one which I had endured for several years in brokenhearted agony - was from God, for my good, and I thanked Him for it from my heart for the very first time. That day I thought the tears would never stop, but they were tears of inexplicable JOY! And I rested, finally, in His grace and sovereignty. At last, some words from Elisabeth Elliot that had previously lodged themselves in my heart became reality, something about acceptance being the way to peace. And I think Hezekiah would know very well what is meant by that.

Here is a portion of Hezekiah's grateful prayer . . .

Hezekiah's Prayer

Isaiah 38:15-20

What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,

and he himself has done it.

I walk slowly all my years

because of the bitterness of my soul.

[affliction comes from God, leading us to hear His voice, pause, and consider]

O Lord, by these things men live,

and in all these is the life of my spirit.

Oh restore me to health and make me live!

[affliction can be life-giving, and God restores His beloved]

Behold, it was for my welfare

that I had great bitterness;

but in love you have delivered my life

from the pit of destruction,

for you have cast all my sins

behind your back.

[affliction works for our good, and God lovingly saves us from destruction and sin]

For Sheol does not thank you;

death does not praise you;

those who go down to the pit do not hope

for your faithfulness.

[gratitude, praise and hope are the good results of persevering under affliction]

The living, the living, he thanks you,

as I do this day;

the father makes known to the children

your faithfulness.

[giving thanks is a sign of life and a cross-generational language of faith]

The LORD will save me,

and we will play my music on stringed instruments

all the days of our lives,

at the house of the LORD.

[thanksgiving unites all gathered believers]

To augment this meditation, here is a great song of praise from Canadian singer/songwriter Steve Bell - stringed instruments and all. Have a wonderful, blessed, and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday!

The Flip Side of Grace

Ten years ago, I heard someone say, "Thanks is the only thing you can give to God that He didn't give you first." At the time, I thought that was fairly profound. But then I made a discovery.

The Greek word for "grace" is also the word for "thanks" (Greek CHARIS). Some related Greek words are EUCHARISTIA (thankfulness, the giving of thanks - 15 occurrences in the NT), EUCHARISTEO (to be grateful, feel thankful - 39 occurrences in the NT), and EUCHARISTOS (thankful, mindful of favors - one occurrence). Notice that each of these words contains the root, CHARIS (this word is translated 130 times in the NASB as "grace," and 11 times as some form of  "thank-").

So, while the thought that we can give God something He didn't give us first is pithy-sounding, it is in reality nothing more than a religious cloak placed on the proud affirmation of a race that desperately wants to take credit for the genius of its majestic Creator. Even gratitude doesn't start with us; it's just the flip side of grace. Every grace package comes with a thankful response inside, like a self-addressed, postage-paid "business reply" card. We can't take any credit for it, but when we send it back we are telling God we received His gift. And we're requesting a lifetime subscription. Everything's paid for already - even the thankful attitude. Like faith and joy and love, it doesn't originate with us.

Every good thing that is given to us, as well as every evil thing that is used for our good (per Romans 8:28), is a gift of grace. Gratitude is the response of a heart that knows this. It is grace received and acknowledged, to the glory of God. For from Him, and to Him, and through Him are ALL THINGS.

There's nothing you or I can give to God, which He did not first give to us. Nothing.

You and I probably have a pile of those reply cards stashed away somewhere (try looking under your favorite collection of bitter complaints, they might be buried underneath). Let's drop those cards in the mail.

O Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.