GRATITUDE ATTITUDE

Maybe it was their childhood of growing up in the Depression, when you learned to be thankful for everything, but gratitude was one character quality my parents tried to instill in me and my sister. We hadn't experienced the death of a parent nor extreme economic deprivations, as they had. But we were taught to be appreciative. One discipline connected to that was saying “thank you” and writing “thank-you notes.”

I tried to instill that in my kids, especially at gift-time. Even when they were too young to write, I encouraged them to draw a picture of the item and coached them on signing their names. With maturity came an expansion of what to be thankful for. Not just material gifts, but also the intangibles like the love, family connections, and hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Whenever I encounter a bitter person, I wonder, what would happen if they sat down and starting writing a thankful list. Would it open their eyes to the poverty of their life outlook?

G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), an English apologist, literary/art critic, and author (also known for influencing fantasy writers C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien), toward the end of his life tried to express his most important life lesson. He decided it was this: whether we take things for granted or take them with gratitude.

Of that, Christian pastor and author Gary Inrig, in his study of Jesus' parables, remarked that when people live with a sense of entitlement instead of gratitude, such attitudes grow thin with those around them. In contrast, living out overflowing thankfulness is a prime clue to one's relationship with God. He explained: "When gratitude is lacking, grace has either not been received or not been understood. The state of our relationship with God is revealed clearly by our gratitude towards him."(1)

Not surprising, the etymology (word derivation) of “gratitude” is the Latin gratus, meaning “thankful, pleasing, agreeable.”

Every year I try to choose a focus word for the year. I post it at the bottom of my computer screen as a daily reminder of that quality. This year's word may be a repeat, but it's “gratitude.” Last year was tough with my husband's final illness and death. But even through that journey and its aftermath, the support of friends and loved ones has reminded me: be grateful in words, actions, and prayer. Quietly, through these choices, we'll sense the hug of God.

(1) Gary Inrig, The Parables: Understanding What Jesus Meant (Discovery House, 1991), pp. 45-46.

THANKFUL (Psalm107)

This fog sits above the valley where I live, just below hills full of orchards 

(shown in fall). Often in life, we're trying to find our way through the 

fog of trials and disappointments, but God is still above it all--

and still in control.

(A series on the 48 psalms recommended for study during times of depression by pastor- counselor David Seamands, author of Healing of Damaged Emotions)

Studying Psalm 107 is something like working at an archeological site. The deeper you dig, the more treasures you find. In this case, instead of broken relics, you discover timeless truths of how thanksgiving heals broken spirits. It starts out with this unapologetic truth:

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Then, after each of the four pictures of desperation, it repeats a similar phrase of gratitude (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31):

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.

Scholars believe this psalm reflects the experiences of the Jews after 70 years of Babylonian captivity ended. Their descendants trudged hundreds of wilderness miles to return to their ancestral homeland. But there was no warm welcome home. Jerusalem was in ruins. Disheartening! Yet this psalm’s repeated message is give thanks!

I’m reminded of a saying from the 1970s, “Praise the Lord, anyhow,” which I suspected was just a disguised way of saying, “I don’t like this but I’ll do a token thank-you to God.” The core message of Psalm 107 is so different. In the worst of times, in the most desperate of situations, they chose better over bitter. The psalm provides five pictures of God’s power and mercy in the worst of times.

*The wandering (vv. 4-9). Imagine being released from a long jail sentence. Exchanging prison garb for "regular" clothes, you walk to freedom, the prison gates clanging shut behind. But nobody’s there to take you home, wherever home is. You trudge down the road, no water or food.That’s a picture of facing discouraging circumstances, such as a major disappointment, divorce, crushing debt, or death of someone we cherished. We become refugees in the land of disillusionment, taking one difficult step at a time in hope of finding wholeness. Yet, God is there (v. 9). 

*The prisoners (vv. 10-16). They’re described as sitting “in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains” (v. 10). These miserable people had rejected God’s commands, and ended up shut away behind bars. Could those bars be bitterness, blaming, anger, prejudice and pettiness--any of which can imprison people for miserable, extended periods of time? Here’s the secret for release: “They cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.  He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains” (v. 14). 

*The sick (vv. 17-22). When we’re well, we should praise and thank God. But here’s the reality: good people get sick and die and bad people get sick and die. If God permits healing for the time being, we need to follow up with Vitamin P—“praise.” Still, sickness reminds us of the brevity of life and that we all someday die to face God for judgment.  

*The storm-tossed (vv. 23-30). The Jews weren’t sea-faring people, so this section’s description of a horrific storm at sea shares their utter fear of being in a primitive vessel at the mercy of mountainous waves. A memorable application of these verses occurred in 1748 with a man known for his mean, blasphemous ways. Facing death on a storm-tossed ship, John Newton remembered his mother’s prayers and Bible lessons when he was a lad. Cold salt water drenching him, he experienced God’s amazing grace for a complete change in his life. He left the sailing world and became a pastor. And yes, he wrote that hymn, “Amazing Grace.” If God can do that for a renegade like Newton, He can do it for anyone who cries “out to the Lord in their trouble” (v. 28).  He can calm the storm and guide them to a desired haven (vv. 29-30).

GOD’S PROVIDENCE

The psalm’s final verses describe the providence of God—that is, His dealings with this world according to His wisdom. Some are lifted up, others brought down. Some blessed, others suffering. But no matter what happens, He is there. If He chooses to let us go through a difficult experience, He’s on the other side of it offering two alternatives. One is to complain and grow bitter.  The other is to trust Him, and grow better.

The Rx for discouragement? The last verse:

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD. (v. 43)

Time just "flu" by

Winter virus still life :)

We were steam-rollin’ right into another Christmas season when IT happened.  I had the gift bags ready, most of the holiday correspondence caught up, and a turkey ready to thaw for a dinner with our son and family.  Oh, don’t forget the ingredients for the “green bean casserole” with its fried onion toppings. I’d helped my daughter-in-law take the two older boys (3 and 4) to get their hair cut at a local walk-in shop. They would look sharp for Christmas pictures. Baby brother, still newborn bald, would look great, too, as long as we chucked his cheek for a smile just before the shutter snapped.

Then IT happened.  The Friday before Christmas, I told my husband, “I’m getting a sore throat. It hurts to swallow.”  He confessed to similar symptoms. Within hours we were unhappily hosting the respiratory flu that was swash-buckling its way through the valley.  The news had reported that there was a bad flu  whose genetic footprint didn’t get into the vaccine we had so dutifully gotten earlier in the fall.  And so Christmas passed, and then New Year’s, in the fogginess of fevers and congestion that had to take their course.  We handed off the gift bags to our son through a barely-open door, and sang a new version of “It came upon a midnight clear” when we kept the midnight lights burning with fever and coughs.

I shouldn’t complain.  We had food in the house (though little appetite).  A warm house (despite snow and ice outside).  Medicines to treat symptoms (the virus had to run its two-week course). If I had to be sick, I’d rather it be now, and not 400 years ago.What? Four hundred years ago?  Where did that remark come from? Well, some of my favorite leisure reading (or sick-time reading)is compilations of hymn stories, and I'd learned about the 1644 hymn “Now Thank We All Our God.”  I’d never given it much thought other than to connect it with the American “Thanksgiving.”  It works for that time of year, but its German origin was actually thousands of miles away from the early settlement of America.

At that time, Germany was in the crucible of the terrible Thirty Years War. One of the walled cities to which refugees fled was Eilenberg, whose only pastor was Martin Rinkart. Enemies would still break through to kill and destroy, but the greatest enemy within was hunger and plague.  In 1637 alone, Rinkart conducted funerals for 5,000 residents, including his wife.  Much sorrow and spiritual wrestling forged his hymn with its stalwart words of hope, like these lines:

Oh may this bounteous God /May all our life be near us,

With ever joyful hearts/And blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace/And guide us when perplexed.
And free us from all ills/In this world and the next.

It should be no surprise that this hymn became the second most widely sung hymn in Germany, next to Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress.”

Our Christmas flu? A droplet of misery and inconvenience in the perspective of eternity.

Beauty and the thorn

Part of a continuing series inspired by sights of Kauai.
Ow! A tiny rose thorn had punched through my garden gloves and found a deep hiding place in my thumb. Digging with a sterilized sewing needle wouldn’t budge it, so I covered that area with a bandage and went on with life, trying to ignore the pain. How could such beautiful flowers emerge off such unfriendly stems?

 A similar thought came as I rediscovered bougainvillea growing throughout Kauai. The same flowering vine grew by the front porch of my childhood home in Los Angeles. I was warned to stay away from it because of the thorns. But the delicate, paper-like blooms were so fascinating!

Bougainvillea, which thrives in tropical climates, received its unusual name in 1768 when a botanist discovered it in Brazil. The scientist was aboard a ship commanded by Admiral Louis de Bougainvillea, and Brazil was one stop on the admiral’s quest to become the first Frenchman to circumnavigate the world. He did so, surviving sailing through the treacherous tips of South America and Africa. From its native South America, bougainvillea spread around the world, with 300 species now identified. Their colors range from white to apricot, pale to dark pink, and bright to bluish red.  The vine’s heart-shaped, paper-like three-leaf “blooms” are actually bracts, from which emerge the small white tubular flower.

Plus thorns.

Thorns, of course, have a powerful spiritual analogy for life. I’ve certainly wrestled with personal application of Paul’s perspective on “thorns.” He admitted having a frustrating condition that impaired him and simply wouldn’t go away, no matter how much he prayed about it.

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations [visions of heaven], there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, emphasis added)

Years ago, amidst a time of many “throny” problems, I learned a simple chorus that often comes back to me as hope. Try singing this to the tune of “Blessed be the tie that binds,” then thank God for the flowers beyond your “thorn.”

As thy day so shall thy strength be.
My grace is sufficient for thee.
My power’s made perfect in thy human weakness,
My grace is sufficient for thee.

Properly propped

(A continuing series based on photos taken in Kaua’i, the Hawaiian islands.)
If you’ve never seen a hala tree before, you might think somebody didn’t plant it deep enough to cover up the roots. But it is what it is, distinguished by a main trunk and numerous “brace trunks” or “prop roots” that help anchor it to the ground, offering the tree greater stability in storms. Top-heavy palm trees aren’t so fortunate when winds bombast the island, but the stout anchor systems of the hala trees works in their favor.

What a wonderful illustration they provide of Paul’s concern for the Christians of Colossae:
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7, boldface emphasis added)

“Rooted” refers to our beginnings as Christians at conversion. Jesus is like the soil from which we draw our spiritual nourishment.  The deeper the root—or, in the case of the hala tree, the more connections with Him-- the more we will grow.

In His parable of the sower (Matthew 13), Jesus told of a plant that grew quickly but then withered when the sun came out because the roots were shallow. It surely couldn’t have been a mature hala tree!

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul echoed his concern for deep spiritual roots:
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. (Ephesians 3:17b-18, emphasis added)

Taken together, these verses tell the way to a solid, growing faith—like “prop roots” of the hala tree:

1. Authentically rooted in Jesus (that’s the main root).

 2. Built up with faith-strengthening teaching.

3. Practicing the grace of thankfulness.

4. Receiving and giving out Christ’s love.

5. Going even deeper in discovering the love of Jesus.

The result is what Paul described at the end of that chapter, words so awesome and hopeful that they need to have a “Hallelujah Chorus” sung behind as they are read:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen! (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Making 'Psense' of Psalms--Psalm 56: Fears and Tears

A "tear bottle" gift, symbolizing God's
watch-care and profound love

Part of a continuing series on selected psalms.
If you’re at a point where you wonder if life can get any worse, or if you can even hang in there now, this is your psalm. It bleeds with David’s despair over his circumstances and mistreatment by enemies. They’d like him dead. Emotionally wrung out from so many negatives, David lets the tears flow. But he also clings to his last shred of hope: God’s faithfulness.

Like several other psalms (including #34, March 28 blog), Psalm 56 records David’s life-threatening predicament in seeking refuge among tribal enemies, the Philistines (1 Samuel 21:10-15). David had gone alone to Gath, thinking mad King Saul wouldn’t pursue him there. But David was recognized as the one who slayed their native son, the giant Goliath. The introduction to this psalm says the enemy seized him, and the first few verses list hot day-long pursuit, attacks, twisted words, conspiracy, lurking, and eagerness to take his life.

You can almost hear his sighs of hopelessness—indeed, the prelude hints at a melody of sadness when it directs musicians to sing it to the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” The original tune is unknown, but in Psalm 55 David had prayed, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest—I would flee far away and stay in the desert!” He may have identified with the mournful coos of doves, and wished he could fly like them at will to another place. But he couldn’t. Yet out of this place of deep frustration and fear, David finds hope in God. The legacy of Psalm 56 is several verse-gems that, by themselves, have comforted and held steady millions through the ages who also needed to affirm God’s faithfulness.

FEARS AND TRUST

“When I am afraid,” David wrote (v. 3-4), “I will trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.  What can mortal man do to me?”  In Psalm 55, he had also expressed this idea of trust: “Cast your cares on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (55:22). I wonder if these were verses the prophet Isaiah also memorized, as he wrote many years later: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). And certainly, these verses were part of the spiritual fiber of the early church leaders. Peter wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). The author of Hebrews quoted, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).

In a quick reading of this psalm, it’s easy to miss another message in verses 10-11, which seem to repeat verses 3-4.  In both, David counsels trusting in God and His Word. In David’s time, that was the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) and maybe Joshua and Judges.  How blessed we are to have not only those, but Psalms and 58 other books of scripture! There’s one tiny word change in verse 10, but it means a lot.  Instead of “in God, whose word I praise” (v. 4), David wrote, “In the LORD, whose word I praise.”  “God” was from a word referring in general to the great God of the universe. “The LORD” was the covenant name of God, which reflected His promises to watch-care His own. In that tiny word, change, David was reminding us of God’s personal and trustworthy care.  How much we need such reminders when the odds seem stacked against us!

Note, too, that David trusts in God and His Word.  I cannot begin to tell you how many times a previously-memorized scripture has come to mind just as the time I needed its reminder of God’s watch-care and direction. David praised God’s Word. He proclaimed its beauty and holy purpose. Should we not do the same?

TEARS AND TRUST

The other memorable portion is verse 8, rendered by King James translators as “Thou tellest my wanderings, put thou my tears in thy bottle; are they not in thy book?” The original Hebrew is a bit sketchy here (original manuscripts had no vowels or pronunciation guides), causing other translators to offer, “Record my lament; list my tears on thy scroll—are they not in thy record?”  Those leaning toward the "tear bottles" translation should know that they were common about a thousand years after David wrote this psalm.  Mourners filled small glass bottles or cups with their tears, placing them in tombs as symbols of respect. Sometimes hired “criers” filled the bottles!  The custom reappeared during the American civil war and in Victorian times.
 

However you translate that portion, these truths emerge.  God does keep track of our circumstances. God does see our every sorrow.  If God had a “tear bottle” (and it would be huge), we’d know how much He loves us and how diligently He takes note of our difficulties.  When He permits hardship and trials, it’s because He knows we will grow in faith through them. It’s a beautiful symbol that we can still use today in comforting those going through unspeakable pain. One of my friends beautifully packages little glass bottles as a comfort gift to those experiencing profound loss.  Her note to them references Psalm 56:8. Several years ago she gave a “tear bottle” with a note about Psalm 56:8 to a young woman who had lost her mother in a car wreck. The young woman still has the bottle, and recently mentioned to my friend how meaningful that gift was.

THANKS AND HOPE

Psalm 56 ends with the plea, “Be merciful to me,” and a huge list of terrorizing circumstances.  Then it concludes with thanksgiving and hope. David acknowledges God’s hand in sparing him from death.  He knows God has a purpose for his life: “that I may walk before God in the light of life” (v. 13). This was a prophetic statement, looking forward to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would call Himself the light of the world: “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). As customary for profound thanks, David wanted to offer up a “thank offering.”  This was a special sacrifice in which part was reserved to share in a meal with family and friends. 

We don’t need to wait until “Thanksgiving” in November to express our thanks to God. It should be a part of every meal (many of us do, anyway, by preceding a meal with a prayer of thanks).  As we look at a lovingly-prepared meal and inhale its fragrance, may we be reminded that every good gift is from above. That includes God’s presence and hope in our most desperate times.

 

Next: Psalm 63.

10 Top Things About Having the Stomach Flu

10. You can break out the retro décor, like that red rubber hot water bottle.
9. It’s not morning sickness—and certainly not if you’re a post-menopausal woman or a man of any age (and if you’re a man, you can finally experience one thing pregnancy does to women).
8. You have new purpose for those fancy fragrant candles you got as generic gifts.
7. You can try new food combinations, like lemon-lime pop, Jello and custard with saltines.
6. You can head for bed long before bedtime.
5. You have a fresh excuse when a telemarketer calls.
4. Taking a long bath and burrowing under several blankets is part of the “cure.”
3. You can lose weight.
2. You find new things to be thankful for, like modern indoor plumbing.
And finally:
1. Even if your head is banging, your stomach rolling, and your lower quarters rumbling, you’re still alive.

The flu visited our home this week. It puts a new spin on “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a hankering for some saltines.….