Stephanie Hughes | Give Thanks in Every Circumstances

I was given a bizarre book recently called Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World by Christian philosopher N.D. Wilson. At the same time I was experiencing deep personal distress about a revelation concerning a family member, sharing the pain and grief of my daughter and husband as they were told they would not be able to conceive children, reeling in sadness at the news of a friend going to jail for an unspeakable sin and absorbing the anguish of a friend in the midst of marital devastation.  I was overwhelmed and fragile, looking upward for answers and comfort, willing myself to believe what I know to be true about God, but sorrow remained, and I prayed for help in my unbelief.

 In a section of the book, the author considers the life cycle of a water molecule (fascinating speculation) and extrapolated his study to the snowflake.  As he eloquently unveiled the artistry and majesty of God in the creative individuality of each flake, he invited me to ponder with him the infinite design possibilities, as none are ever repeated. I began to sense God revealing Himself in a way that brought centeredness and wonder. If He takes such care to design each snowflake, how much more care does He take to design my circumstances to unveil an individualized masterpiece? Am I not of more value to Him than a snowflake? My faith was strengthened, and worship followed.

 I was then positioned to point my daughter to God and His care for her and her circumstance with a tale of a snowflake and the verse from Matthew 10:29  "that not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing." Her faith was strengthened and worship followed.

When I came to church the next Sunday, still under the “shadow” of it all, as none of the circumstances had changed, more sad news was shared by our pastor during our time of worship. Sorrow welled up and I was tempted to discouragement. BUT GOD (oh how I love that phrase!) in His kindness, had already ordained that our worship team would be singing, “His eye is on the sparrow”.  My heart melted as tears burst forth and I received the personal ministry of the Spirit. I became acutely aware of the people around me as a widow groaned in praise behind me. I thought of the many in my church family who were facing their own disappointments, pain, loss, and sorrow. I prayed that they too would experience the comfort and joy in the Lord as our hearts joined together in those moments; that faith would be strengthened and that worship would follow.

We are exhorted in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” There are two parts to this encouragement. To give thanks in all circumstances AND, that your circumstances are in the will of God. As God walks with us through our challenges, He is doing a good thing in conforming us into the image of Christ. To be more like Christ and to share in His sufferings is our ultimate goal as it brings glory to God and maturity to our souls. In this, we experience great reason for thanksgiving!

A book,

a snowflake,

a sparrow,

a song,

a community of believers…

Personal touches from a personal God. Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come? His eye is on the sparrow…” our faith is strengthened and worship continues…