"Being Thankful" - Truthful or Fake It?

Well that sounds kind of silly doesn't it? I mean, of course we are thankful all the time - like right? I know I'm supposed to be. I read all the verses and I keep hearing and preaching that at all times we are to,

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Rejoice always,
¹⁷ pray without ceasing,
¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

But then, what about those times when, if we are honest, we just are not?  Are we to just "fake it"? Are we to  lie to God who knows everything?

Recently, well more like the last three years or so, I have found myself in the nightmare of my life. Things that I thought were right, decisions I made with good intentions, even intentions that were for the best, all backfired. What should have gone right went absolutely wrong.  Did I make mistakes, presume too much, and take too many chances? Yes.  But was my heart solid? Yes.

So, here am I on the Sunday morning after Thanksgiving getting up early to touch off the notes on my "thanksgiving sermon" of all things.  I had been asking over a week the question, "how do you preach a sermon on 'being thankful' when if you are honest with yourself and with God - "you aren't thankful"?


I mean, the truth is that God knew my heart; He knew my attitude stunk; He knew I was angry;  So should I stand up in the pulpit all bright and pretty and say "rejoice - pray - and in everything GIVE THANKS"?

I couldn't do it.  I've learned in my life that if you are in a great time in your life, you either have just come out of a bad time or about to go into one.  Life at many stages of our life is just not good. And intentions, though honorable at the time, just don't always show from actions that don't work out.

So back to the question, do we be a fake thanker or one of truth?  You know what I have learned?  If God knows my heart - then being anything other than truthful is a lie.  What else does...

Matthew 5:36-37 (NKJV)
³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.
³⁷ But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. 

Doesn't "yes" being 'yes' and "no" being 'no' simply mean to be truthful?  I believe God wants me to be honest and so that He has something to work with.

So "NO", I'm sorry but right now at this point in my life, it stinks! But I have to remind myself that while I may not see it; while I hate it now; while life is soooo confusing and unfair, I have to remind myself that "joy will come in the morning".  And when I remind myself of this, I remember that...

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

So on this Thanksgiving, maybe you too find yourself at a rotten time.  Life hasn't made sense and you are just MAD. I want to reach out to you and say, "don't fake it; don't lie about it; instead be truthful".  God understands. A good friend told me, (and this is not a quote but as best as memory allows), "if God didn't understand our anger, He wouldn't have given us this emotion"!

Let's revisit one passage...

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)¹⁶ Rejoice always,¹⁷ pray without ceasing,¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Can we "rejoice" knowing that He understands?  Can we "pray" even in anger telling God our heart, feelings, and frustrations?  And can we "be thankful" because we believe that "joy WILL come in the morning"? YES; And when the joy finally returns, then in a real spirit of true Thanksgiving give God all the praise knowing He will continually use that bad time of your life for your good and His Honor!

So if you, like me, are rotten - may I say "hang in there"?  You and I are not alone. I agree, no one can walk in your shows and doesn't really understand because they aren't in your shows.  But we've come through bad times before and likely this one won't be the last one.  We take them day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.  And while no one can really understand your feelings - hang on to God's promise...

1 Kings 8:57 (NIV)
⁵⁷ May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us.

No, I don't understand what you are going through. Hey, I don't understand what I am going through nor do I know how I will get through it.  It's tough. So together, let's just take today. As James says, "tomorrow has enough trouble of its own."  Let's just get through today and allow God to worry about tomorrow!

Let's get through this together...