How to View a Storm

In all circumstances we’re to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving involves hindsight as well as foresight – thank You for who You are and what You’ve done, and thank You that You will fulfill what You have promised in Your Word and whispered into the secret places of our hearts.

1 Thess. 5:18 directs us to be thankful “in” everything – whatever storm is going on, whomever is involved, no matter how difficult or great things are – we thank Him IN the circumstance. We’re not directed to thank Him FOR the circumstance – everything does not happen because God brought it about and He does not condone every sin and grievous situation. We know that God can take the worst situation (even one we’ve created through our sin, errors and ignorance) and turn it around for our good. That doesn’t mean God brought about that circumstance – it’s just proof of His faithfulness to us even when we’re unfaithful and fail to hear and follow Him completely. Thanking God for a situation like this is like giving glory to the devil and the work he did in getting us into the tight spot we’re in.

As an example, consider a person who is destitute and can’t feed and support his family: is he to thank God FOR that situation? Or is he to thank God IN the situation for His unfailing faithfulness as he trusts Him to guide and supply? We’re commanded to care for our families (1 Tim. 5:8), so thanking God that we couldn’t do so would be in disagreement with His word. What about the person who's spouse had an affair - should he thank God for the situation? Can you see the confusion this type of thinking brings?

In any circumstance our place is to trust God to give direction, reveal the reason we’re in it (if He so chooses) and give us the power and plan to either press through or get out of it. In sickness, danger, financial stress, relationship turmoil, the chaos of the world….God has an answer and we can be thankful to Him for His promises and faithfulness. Thanking God FOR a circumstance can be the devils means of twisting our thoughts and emotions so he can keep us bound up in that circumstance, wrapped in our sin and steeped in defeat. How many of us have thanked God for being sick, or having a sick child? If we truly think God brought on that circumstance, then we’d best not try to get out of His plan!

Of course there are circumstances that God leads us into; He will USE the sinful situations of the world to fulfill his sharpening and refining process in us, show us our own sin, and teach us to trust Him. But just as Jesus thanked God IN His dire circumstances leading up to the cross, we are to do the same. As we thank God IN our circumstances and storms, our eyes remain focused on Him instead of on our troubles. In this way we are enabled to view things through His eyes and believe that He can and will do the impossible, instead of focusing on the storm and concerning ourselves with the impossibilities!