Thanksgiving Is Better

At times the church loses focus, sinking into a sea of demands and complaints to the Lord. Constantly demanding that God fulfill his promises sounds like the tantrum of a Christian clinging to perpetual childhood in Christ. Often the church seems asleep, lethargic, with no desire to carry God’s mission forward

. We content ourselves with worship and Sunday gatherings in the sanctuary. When the church has no challenges that shake its foundations, something is wrong. Either people are wrapped up in themselves, or they are deaf and complacent. God gives us our inheritances, but he expects us to act so that he can see us grow. When he gives visions and plans, the wisest thing is to get moving and pay attention to what he is doing. Joining in God’s plan is his will.

We become people who demand promises, failing to notice that God is already blessing us with tremendous favors. Personally, I believe that demanding promises from God is like telling the designer of the universe that he is doing things wrong, or that he could do them better. More spiritual is giving thanks in every circumstance, trusting that he is working for our good and exercising the control needed for us to mature in our Christian lives.

The tribes of Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim) reproached Joshua: “Why have you given us only one portion of the territory? We are numerous, and the Lord has blessed us richly” (Joshua 17:12–14). The patient leader gave them the solution. They had to work and clear the hills to take possession of the land and expand their territories. Nevertheless, the complaints continued, and Joshua, resigned, showed his mercy and compassion and still managed to encourage the dissatisfied tribes. This story resembles our own. Our heavenly Father blesses us, and we overlook the blessing while carnally and egocentrically seeking additional blessings in the web woven by a false spirituality. And because we are not content with what God has provided, we begin devising our own provision with the strategy of “I want more”: more territory, more offerings, more leaders, a bigger building, more audio equipment, more ministries.

Joshua distributed the land as the Lord had instructed him, but a year after he began allotting it to the tribes, seven of them had still not occupied the territory they had received as an inheritance. Joshua rebukes the negligent and lazy ones who were content to remain near the Tabernacle, absorbed in contemplation, and did not do God’s will by possessing what was already theirs. We return to the beginning: God’s people need challenges, goals, and visions that come from God’s heart. Selfish complaints and demands must be avoided. The church is our Gilgal, where we recover from spiritual battles and repair our armor, not a place to rest on the laurels of God’s glory. Humility must come to the surface when we enjoy God’s blessings. Ostentation debases and destroys our Creator’s good intentions to make our lives a fruitful pilgrimage for the good of his church and society.

Joshua, with God’s help, faced the difficulties and the complaints of his brothers in the faith. “Joshua cast lots there in the presence of the Lord and divided the territories among the Israelites according to their tribal divisions” (Joshua 18:10).

Church, let us be attentive! Let us reflect on the ways God is blessing us and guard against unnecessary complaints and demands. Let us act and work “as seeing him who is invisible,” without forgetting that we owe everything to him, and placing our hope in Christ and in him alone. Thanksgiving is the greatest antidote to focusing on ourselves and helps us focus instead on the majesty of God.

May God bless his Word!

Suggested reading: Joshua 17–18