Grateful: The Purpose of God

Intro - We have talked about a good God that is near to us but there is also a purpose with what God does and allows.

The Purpose of Circumstances

Why do we need to be told to be grateful? There is no problem with being grateful when we are being blessed with comforts and provisions. We praise God so passionately when we are comfortable.

However, that is not what the Lord wrote. He said to give thanks in ALL circumstances. What is He assuming? He assumes that there will comes times when we don’t want to. When we will lose sight of God because our situation has become too severe. Too hard. And we take our eyes off of what we have and instead focus on what we don’t have.

We have talked about the goodness of God, the nearness of God but what about the purpose of God. Why does God have us go through suffering? Wouldn’t it be must easier to bless us and make only the wicked suffer? Although we aren’t perfect we are trying. Wouldn’t it be better for God to not have us struggle and instead give us everything we desire.

There was once a son who had a wealthy father. He served His father every day and was extremely blessed. He never needed anything because His father always provided. He never struggled. He was never disobedient. He ate the best food and was never in danger. However his brother was not like him. He betrayed the family, took their father’s money and blew it. One day after he had used it all up, he came home smelling like the world. Unbathed and beaten up he had the nerve to come and ask for mercy. How did the good son react when their father took him back? He was jealous and bitter because he wasn’t celebrated. That is the story that is commonly known as the Prodigal Son. However, the story is more about the son that remained than it is about the son that left and returned.

See those that never suffer typically lose sight of God. Instead they only see the blessings that He gives. They begin to trust in the blessings rather than the blesser. They no longer love God but only love the things that He provides. Some of you love people that way. Some of you love your spouses or family that way. If they were to stop providing you what you wanted, you’d stop loving them.

God is trying to teach you a deeper love. A love that isn’t based on things but is based on relationship. That is why we are being taught to give thanks in all circumstances. What is the will of God? To give thanks in all circumstances. Are you in a good circumstance? Give thanks! Are you in a bad circumstance? Give thanks! Why is it that way?

Because God wants His people and this world to know that He is worthy to be praised because of who He is and not because of what He provides.

Many times we behave like this world. We suffer and we behave like we don’t know why. This world suffers with no hope or direction. They simply deal with it. They try to educate their way out of it. They blame each other for suffering. They have wars to endure suffering, only to cause more suffering. They take advantage of other people suffering. And when all else fails they try to just cope with suffering. Then we follow along as well.

We, like the world, try to drown out the pain. We turn to sexuality, distractions, or greed. Let’s be honest, the main reason you want more money is because you want less suffering and more comfort. I came across an interesting passage the other day in Hebrews.

Hebrews 2:10–11 ESV

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

Hebrews 2:10-

What he’s saying here is it made sense that Jesus would suffer....why? Because those that are being sanctified, are being made holy, are being made clean come from the same Father.

Jesus set the perfect example of what it is like to suffer

1 Peter 2:21 ESV

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

The question that we must ask is why was Jesus thankful through His suffering? Because He knew that suffering was not meaningless but had PURPOSE! What is that purpose? What drives us to give thanks in spite of circumstances?

Romans 5:3–5 ESV

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3

How can we rejoice in sufferings? Because we....KNOW, we have seen, that it produces endurance, character and finally HOPE!!!

However, that rejoicing, that thankfulness, doesn’t come out of thin air. It is produced from consistently spending time with God.

Listen Christian, you will not make it very well in this world if you are not spending time in God’s presence. You are always being bombarded with this world’s philosophy and way of thinking. You have to do something to feed your Spirit with the truth of God.

After I became a believer I was discipled by my Pastor. He was a 62 year old big black man that used to fight in street gangs. I was a fighter as well but every now and then I would get a little too angry and he would give me that look that let me know he still had some fire left in him so I needed to calm down. I loved that man. He would take me with him to meetings, prayer gatherings and out to eat. He shared with me his innermost thoughts and struggles. We would listen to music together and argue over which was better, quartet music or Christian rap. Over time, this young man who use to walk with his pants sagging, foul language, and bad temper began to walk like he did, talk like he did and think like he did. Because I spent time with him it was inevitable and I began to see the world as he did.

If you spend time with God you will begin to view both good times and bad times the way that He does.

There is nothing complicated to this. Be grateful because you have a good God that is near to you. He is using EVERYTHING that this world throws at you to grow you.

I used to box. I was young, full of power and quickness. I thought I was invulnerable. Until one day I had the chance to spar with a much older man. I thought that this was going to be easy. He had the appearance of being weak and out of shape. However, every time I threw a punch, he would subtly move out of the way and hit me at just the right moment. When I didn’t punch he would just smile and wait for me to try again. NO matter how I attacked he would use it against me. After a few rounds of that I was very frustrated. I asked him him how he did that. And he told me that he could tell when I was going to punch, because he had been doing it for so long, and although I was putting pressure on him he was using that pressure against me and frustrate me.

Listen saints, what this world intends for evil God uses it for good! He has been doing this long enough to know that the pressure of this world only presents opportunity.

You don’t have to learn how to fight. You just have to learn how to hide behind His defenses. What you feel is the frustration of this world and it’s inability to separate you from the love of God.

He fights on your behalf. Be thankful in all circumstances and in doing so you are like that trainer delivering a return blow. Although you may feel weak, like you have nothing left to give, PRAISE GOD! and watch how He uses that pressure for your gain.

We too will be like Paul, when his very life was threatened, and said “to live is Christ and to die is gain”

When this world has stripped everything away from us, when there is suffering or pain all around. When we are blessed and when we are cursed, we are still thankful....because we know that none of that is permanent. We have a GREATER HOPE AWAITING FOR US!

WE CAN PRAISE HIM NOW BECAUSE IT IS SO SURE! WE HAVE FORETASTE OF GLORY DIVINE! AND HOW GREAT IS THAT FLAVOR!

Romans 8:18 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:31

Romans 8:31–32 ESV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

My brothers and sisters, God is for YOU! He gave his own son to get you....His own son that had infinite value. Will He not also give you all that you need to keep you from being snatched away?

REJOICE IN THE GOD OF YOUR SALVATION! BE THANKFUL IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE! If you blessed, don’t take it as opportunity to rest in leisure. Your blessing is to help people in need! Be grateful that you can be a blessing to someone else!

If you are in need, be thankful! That God is molding you into Jesus’s image and teaching you dependence on the Father!

This is how Jesus is all in all. Whether in blessing or in curse, in famine or in feast, in every height and every depth, God WILL RECEIVE GLORY! REJOICE AND BE THANKFUL! WE ARE HIS CHILDREN, THE CHILDREN OF A GOOD FATHER!!!