Courtney Gilmore As I was thinking about everything I’m thankful for this year, I wondered what the Bible says we should be thankful for. So, I searched His Word for specifics. There were verses saying to be thankful for God’s goodness, mercy, deliverance, truth, and salvation. I also found verses telling us to thank God for our food, for hearing our prayers, for other believers, and for enabling us to do what He has called us to. Then, I came to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
It was difficult for me to find a list because the things we should be thankful for can’t be listed. God wants us to rejoice and be thankful for EVERYTHING, ALWAYS!
Be Thankful For the Fleas
This reminded me of Corrie Ten Boom, because she talks about this exact verse in her book “The Hiding Place.” She and her sister Betsie were Christians who had sheltered Jews during the Holocaust. They had just arrived in a soiled, rancid, cramped, flea-infested concentration camp, and this is their conversation:
Suddenly I sat up, striking my head on the cross-slats above. Something had pinched my leg. “Fleas!” I cried. Betsie, the place is swarming with them! How can we live in such a place.”
“Show us. Show us how.” It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie.
“Corrie!” she said it excitedly. “He’s given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!”
I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. “It was 1 Thessalonians,” I said. We were on our third complete reading of the New Testament since leaving Scheveningen. In the feeble light I turned the pages. “Here it is: ‘Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all…’” It seemed written expressly to Ravensbruck.
“Go on,” said Betsie. “That wasn’t all.”
“Oh yes: ‘…to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus-’”
“That’s it, Corrie!” That’s His answer. ‘Give thanks in all circumstances! That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”
I stared at her, then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.
“Such as?” I said.
“Such as being assigned here together.”
I bit my lip. “Oh yes, Lord Jesus!”
“Such as what you’re holding in your hands.”
I looked down at the Bible. “Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all the women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.”
“Yes,” said Betsie. “Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we’re packed so close, that many more will hear!” She looked at me expectantly. “Corrie!” she prodded.
“Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds.”
“Thank You,” Betsie went on serenely, “for the fleas and for-”
The fleas! This was too much. “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”
“‘Give thanks in all circumstances,’” she quoted. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”
And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time, I was sure Betsie was wrong.
God Had a Purpose
You, too, may be thinking that Betsie is crazy. She sounds like one of those Pollyanna Christians who doesn’t live in the real world and she is expecting you to participate in her delusions, too. But listen to what happened.
One evening I got back to the barracks late from a wood-gathering foray outside the walls… Betsie was waiting for me, as always, so that we could wait through the food line together. Her eyes were twinkling.
“You’re looking extraordinarily pleased with yourself,” I told her.
“You know we’ve never understood why we had so much freedom in the big room,” she said. “Well.. I’ve found out.”
That afternoon, she said, there’d been confusion in her knitting group about sock sizes and they’d asked the supervisor to come and settle it.
“But she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why?”
Betsie could not keep the triumph from her voice: “Because of the fleas! That’s what she said. ‘That place is crawling with fleas!’”
Are You Thankful for the Fleas?
Because of the fleas, they were able to read their bible in the big room with everyone present without any of the guards finding out. Therefore, Betsie was right. God had used even the fleas for their good and His glory.
So, my question for you this thanksgiving is: Are you thankful for the fleas in your life? It is so hard to wrap our minds around being thankful in the midst of suffering. Honestly, it’s hard to be thankful for small discomforts much less heart-wrenching tragedy. But this thanksgiving, whether you can list a hundred things right off the top of your head that you are thankful for or you can’t think of a single meaningful thing, thank Him anyway.
Choose to thank Him even for the things you hate. Thank Him for the things you’re angry about, for the things that make no sense, and even for the things that hurt.
Now, before you get upset with me and say that I don’t understand your circumstances, let me explain. I’m not saying that you should settle in and accept a life of pain and struggle. You should not stop asking Him for rescue and redemption. I want you to continue to beg Him for deliverance and pour your heart out to Him without restraint. But, remember that He is in control. He knows your circumstances and He will bring you through. So, don’t give up hope. He can be trusted with your life. God knows what He’s doing.
Our Father in heaven has a reason even for the fleas!
Give Thanks in All Circumstances
So, thank Him for all the wonderful things He’s given you. Then, when you reach the end of that list, begin thanking Him for the things that you don’t want to thank Him for. Wait and watch. Maybe He will show you how He is going to use those things for good. But even if He doesn’t, you can rest assured knowing that He has a purpose.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
By the way, if you haven’t read “The Hiding Place” READ IT! We read it in high school and it was so memorable that I bought it as an adult and have read it multiple times and even taught a study over it. It is jam packed with lessons about the Lord.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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