Give Thanks
By Mike Rule

We have all heard statements like:

"Give thanks for what you have. Keep things in perspective; things could be worse."

And sayings like:

"I was tired of walking, then I saw a man with no legs."

"I was envious of people living in a luxurious home, then I saw a man sleeping in the ditch."

"I was tired of my illness, then I heard of a man whose body has been ravaged with cancer and only has a month to live."

"There are always others who are worse off."

"We should be grateful and thankful!"

I am not wanting to belittle this because there is a LOT of truth in these statements, but I also think our perspective may be just a bit warped. Think about it a minute: for one person out there in the world there is no one worse off. Someone has to be at the bottom of the pile. Where is that person supposed to turn and look? After all, everywhere he turns and everywhere he looks, everyone is better off.

I was in Las Vegas, Nevada, for a conference a few years ago and there was a blind man sitting on the sidewalk with no arms and no legs. I'm not even sure he could talk or hear. Someone would take him out everyday, prop him up against a building with his money bucket, and he would just sit there. I couldn't see how there could be anyone worse off than him. What possible good could he be? Who would he look to? Then I heard about a fellow who was little more than a head. He had what you might call a very, very small torso (about the size of a book) and that was it. Perhaps he is worse off. Perhaps if the guy in Las Vegas could see this fellow he would feel better about himself and not be discouraged by his own circumstances.

Now in light of these fellows, what problems do we really have? For me that question comes up short. It seems pretty foolish and self-centered. The real question is: What relevance does Christ have for fellows like these? If the Jesus we serve is not enough for them and if he has nothing to offer them, then cancel my reservation for heaven. It's all a waste.

If I am looking at and comparing myself to other men just so I can appreciate my situation, I am gauging myself against the wrong thing. Is Jesus enough? For me? For them? Is He? We desperately want to feel better about ourselves sometimes. Jesus commented on this in the temple regarding the Pharisee who said, "I am so glad I am not a sinner like that tax collector over there..." Jesus in essence said, "He is comparing himself to the wrong thing! That tax collector is in better shape than the Pharisee is!"

Do you know that you are a lot better off than you think or feel that you are? Circumstances can be confusing. Situations don't always make sense. There are times when God just doesn't make sense to us. Job got to the point of despair and said, "I don't understand it, but I still trust God!" Paul was beaten and thrown in prison, yet he said "I rejoice that I have been considered worthy to suffer for the sake of the gospel!" Is it really possible to respond in that way? With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

God sees things from a perspective that is hard for us to grasp. He doesn't ask us to understand; He only asks us to trust. It is only possible to say "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us" when Christ is our everything and we trust Him implicitly. Jesus is enough no matter our circumstances, but we cannot experience that until we begin to truly know Him. Paul knew Him. Job knew Him, yet through circumstances he came to know Him even better. There is no system that we can follow to truly know Him. He deeply desires intimacy with each one of us. He hungers to share Himself with us and to give us Himself to fulfill our hearts. He desires to be our sufficiency and our stability! We cannot always understand the circumstances of life, but we can ask Him to give us such an unshakable trust that no matter the circumstances, He is enough. This is His heart's passion and His greatest desire. He is enough for the lowliest. He is enough for the person at the bottom of the pile. He is enough for me. He is enough for you. He loves us! He really does! The question is: Will we let Him take us into that realm of deeper intimacy with Him and bring us to that place of implicit trust?