Charles Spurgeon wrote an incredible novel that contains readings for the morning and night of each day of the year. In one of his excerpts, I read this most heart-searing truth,
"Be MOST in those engagements which you have experimentally proved to draw you nearer to Christ."
His words generally cause a stir in my affections for the Lord Jesus Christ. And this day was no different. Because of my affinity with the old English, I have marveled at the poetic nature and poignancy with which Spurgeon rights. It is spot-on and deliberate.
In this particular quote, I found that one of those "experiments" that draw me closest to Christ is the engagement of each day starting with thanksgiving. This post is relevant to the month that we are currently in. November bears the seal of being the month of thankfulness, and in it we discipline ourselves to commit our 31 days to writing or verbally stating those things we are thankful for. Or maybe you don't.
Many of us celebrate in a tremendous feast that is laden with turkey, ham, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, pies and whatever else your family has an affinity for during this special occasion. Mom has laid out the best linens and the china is perfectly placed in the respective spots. People laugh and reminisce of memories past. Now this is not to group all of us into one mass of a group. Sometimes before the meal, we offer a prayer of thanks, or each person around the table shares what they are most thankful for. It is a counter-cultural practice, this act of thanksgiving.
But if I may, I want to gravitate back towards Spurgeon's testament. Be MOST engaged in those things that you have practiced that draw you nearer to Christ. In this case, thanksgiving is that experiment that never fails.
C.S. Lewis, before believing on the name of Jesus Christ, found praise and thanksgiving to God a most irritating notion and a grotesque display of selfishness. However, after Lewis confessed with his mouth that Jesus is indeed Lord, he penned words that outlined a different perspective on this aspect of adoring and giving things to God:
The worthier the object the more intense this delight would be. If it were possible for a created soul fully (I mean up to the full measure conceivable in a finite being) to “appreciate”, that is to love and delight in, the worthiest object of all, and simultaneously at every moment to give this delight perfect expression, then that soul would be in supreme beatitude.
In his particular phrasing, the end of his quote is stunning. Then that soul would be in supreme beatitude, to put it plainly, that soul would be in supreme bliss, or even more simply, in great joy. When the object (God), is in its fullest measure, it is being appreciated and delighted, and we experience a fullness of joy. In Psalm16:11, we are promised fullness of joy.
After eating your fill on Thanksgiving, there is a fullness of food. We unbuckle the belts, we change into sweatpants, or we take a nap. But for mere moments, we enter into this position of happiness, maybe even a sense of completeness.
Unfortunately, these moments don't last long because our hunger eventually returns, leading us on another scavenger hunt for food.
This is where I want to draw a parallel. What if spiritually, through the act of thanksgiving, you were able to maintain a spiritual fullness by each day engaging in thanksgiving? Not just the 30 days of November, but each day of the year. I don't want to swipe a simple "Do this" or "Do that" to end my time on this post.
Specifically, I want to address the devastation that occurs when we do not commit to rehearse this simple discipline. Thanksgiving, for the believer, is an act of humbly thanking God for everything. This means in all times. Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice always, and again I say rejoice!" Paul, the author of this book, is a man who over the course of his lifetime was ravaged by shipwrecks, beatings and prison cells. I have to conclude that if a man who was at many times close to death commands the people in Philippi to rejoice, then should we not, believers, rejoice always no matter what the trial or suffering, no matter what the day or time?
Where there is no thanksgiving, fear, anxiousness, pride, bitterness, unkindness and selfishness naturally swarm our heart. The art of giving thanks reverses those feelings because it takes the focus off of those things which DO NOT draw us nearer to Christ. Instead, thanksgiving insists that we dwell on those things that have been given and provided. Thanksgiving shows us where we have come from and how we can keep going. It channels our scared, severed eyes to look on God, who is complete and whole, lacking in nothing. It produces a dependence on Him, who is stable and giving.
To neglect this command is to deny yourself fullness of joy, which in Proverbs is promised to us who believe and remain in His presence and draw near to Him.
Thanksgiving engages your heart to draw near to Christ. Spurgeon was talking generally about many things that could be used to draw you closer to Christ, but I pointedly am saying thanksgiving is a command that has proven itself to draw you nearer to Christ.
So, what are you thankful for? Name it. Write it down. Tell others.
Praise ye the Lord. Engage each day with thanksgiving, whether big or small, and it is there in His presence you will find the fullness of joy.
