Over the past few years, there has been a revival in Christendom of the need for gratitude. I, personally, have been deeply touched and challenged by authors that inspire us to look around, be present, and give thanks. And I am ever so grateful (no pun intended!) for their message. I am confident that this movement began right in the heart of God, seeing as how it’s come from multiple messengers all sharing within a similar timeframe.
But there are times when gratitude is not enough. It is not enough only to be thankful, especially when we are walking through the valleys. In these moments, we need more than just a heart of thanks, much more. We need faith.
We need the certain hope that sees what is yet unseen. Without this, it is impossible to please God. Merely giving thanks is not enough because it does not lift us to the higher plain. And though it may change our outlook, it does not change our circumstances. But faith does.
Countless times in the gospels, Jesus commends faith: it is your faith that made you well; if you had the faith of a mustard seed, you could move mountains; your faith has healed you; this person has great faith! Faith does more than just accept our current conditions. Faith alters them.
Faith is anchored in the truth that God is good. It is possible to miss this with mere gratitude. We can be thankful for what God has given us and still secretly wonder if He is holding out. Faith has to step out of the boat. Faith must make the choice to assume that God is for us. He will help us. He will catch us if we fall.
Jesus said, “We have not because we ask not.” He also commended the Canaanite woman for continuing to ask for crumbs from the table even after he told her that no, he would not help her.
Faith is what kept the widow knocking. Gratitude may have left her at home, trying hard to be content in the midst of cruel injustice, looking for the silver lining. Faith went directly to the judge and called until there was an answer. Faith counts on God opening the door.
Gratitude is safer. Gratitude can assume that all is as it’s meant to be. Faith says there’s more. Faith says bring in the Kingdom. Faith says change what is not of the Son. Gratitude is vulnerable. Faith is wild. Both are required.
Gratitude is not enough to carry us through divorce, or cancer, or the passing of a loved one. If we are to continue to run and not grow weary in those times, we must have faith. We must hope and believe that God is good. He has good planned for us. He will bring about His promises.
Before I even met my husband, I felt that God had led me to believe that I would one day become a mother. Years later, I married and fell pregnant. But the baby did not stay here with us long. Twice this happened.
In that season, it did bring some comfort to remind myself of all that I did have and to give thanks. But what really lifted me out of the jaws of despair was not gratitude, it was faith. It was faith in God’s goodness. It was coming back to the former promises of God and agreeing with Him for my future.
It was one of the most terrifying steps of faith I had ever made- to trust that Jesus still wanted me to have children after having lost two. Doubts and justifications flooded my mind, but the Holy Spirit confirmed to me that this was still God’s dream. This was not a promise that I had crafted for myself. I was very careful to lay down my plans before Him, even if that included motherhood. I sincerely believed that this was His desire for me.
Romans tells us that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God. In Jeremiah 32, we read that Israel is under siege. Hope is dim, but Jeremiah hears from God. He believes God wants him to purchase a field. Even though Israel is about to be captured by the Babylonians, God promises that good will come again. So against all visible evidence (and common sense), Jeremiah believes God and obeys.
I, too, heard God’s promises for me, and I tried my best to believe them. After we discovered I was pregnant for the 3rd time, I felt like God wanted me to go and pick out toys for the baby. I didn’t want to do it. I was SO afraid that we would lose another child. But I chose to believe. With feeble knees and shaking hands, I chose to believe. Over and over again I chose, through 9 months of pregnancy and an unsure delivery, I chose. And God was faithful.
Not all dreams turn out the way we originally plan, and it is possible to mishear what God is saying. But He is our Shepherd. He wants to lead us more than we want to be led. He wants us to trust him, to have faith that He is good.
Gratitude is a worthy virtue. A necessary discipline in a society full of wants and “needs”. But faith is foundational to following and knowing Jesus. We must believe that He is has good plans for us. We must believe that He has put those good plans in our hearts to bring about joy in our lives.
Even as we give thanks “when the fig tree does not bud”, we must have faith that one day, it will. This is the hope of the resurrection, the Jesus in whom we put our faith! And He who did not spare His own son, will also graciously give us all things. There is good ahead. Be grateful for today, but be expectant for tomorrow!
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