Be Grateful, Even in the Midst of Your Needs & Struggles, Exhorts Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan

Last updated on: January 5, 2018 at 7:22 pm by KP Yohannan

Be Grateful, Even in the Midst of Your Needs & Struggles, Exhorts Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan 2018-01-05T19:22:25+00:00 KP Yohannan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I heard the story once about a poor woodcutter. He worked so hard and tirelessly day in and day out, yet he struggled to keep food on the table for his family. He grew tired of working so hard and being poor. He said to himself, “I would praise God if I could just have a little gold like the merchants do.” He dreamed about the chicken and meat he could eat if he had just a little gold.

Then one night, he dreams that a man with a shining face came to him telling him that God granted his wish and touched him with his staff. The woodcutter soon finds out everything he touches turns to gold. At first, he is so excited, but then he realizes he cannot even drink water, and he begs God to reverse the wish.

At last the woodcutter wakes up, and he realizes it was only a dream. He is so thankful for the wood that he can carry, the water that he can drink, the food that he can eat. He immediately stops and thanks God for all His gifts.

How often do we find ourselves acting like the poor woodcutter? We too have the tendency to focus on the problems we find, the disappointments or misunderstandings to the point that in the end we just feel like running away from our situation or wishing for a different one.

The early church fathers suffered much and a great deal of their instruction focused on the necessity to see our life events outside of time and space knowing we cannot see the full picture of what God is doing. Our modern culture and Christianity has a hard time understanding this. We must train ourselves to be able to look at life and all our experiences and the people in our lives beyond time and space. And when you can learn to do that, you find you have a whole different value and meaning from a different world. It’s a new eyeglass in which to view life. The woodcutter saw everything differently when he saw something good in his hardship.

Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan with Manja Tamang and his family. Manja is a missionary who endured 9 years of false imprisonment. He was said to always greet his visitors in prison with a smile. One person said, “He reminded me often of the Apostle Paul’s own statement from prison ‘rejoice in the Lord always.’ “

It says in Hebrews that for the joy that was set before Christ, He endured the cross. His life was like a seed that fell into the ground and died from which a great crop sprung up and grew.

For those moments of “dying” in our lives, there is something beyond this moment now in which God is preparing a good return on that seed that dies. Even when our faith is weak, we can be childlike and thank God for what He has done, and what He will do. We can pray, “Lord, I don’t understand all that I’m going through, but I thank You for what you have done for me.” All of us will go through crises and difficulties in our lives at one time or another. It is in these moments that we find ourselves most in need of pausing and giving thanks.

I learned a sad statistic recently. It said, in America more people die of loneliness than ever before. Loneliness is a detachment; it is a separation. This sense of “I am alone” creates despair. And we can then regress into finding answers within ourselves, or from others, and in the end we really don’t find answers.

When I was living in my village in India when my children were young, I remember my son Danny, who must have been hardly 5 years old, and I were walking through the village at night after visiting my oldest brother. There was no moon in the sky; it was quite dark. The village hardly had any lights, especially where we were walking along a narrow, winding path that runs through the highland. As we were walking along, Danny heard something move suddenly nearby him. He was nervous about water snakes and all the other creatures because he used to go fishing and would see them.

He jumped and said, “Daddy, I’m afraid.” He thought something was after him. I said, “Danny, give me your hand.” And I remember taking his hand, and we kept walking. We still had another few minutes to go to get to the main road. So then I asked him, “Are you afraid; is everything okay?”

Then he said, “No, I’m not afraid.”

And I said, “Why?”

“Daddy, you are holding my hand, and I am not afraid.” All the realities of the fears, real or unreal had not been removed, but he was joyful and walking and hopping along while I had his hand in my hand.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Let me ask you a question: Does God love you? Can anything at all separate you from His love? No. We know that . . . but do we really know that. He is with us through the dark places, and His love never leaves us. When we know that, we can be free to be grateful in the midst of all kinds of needs, struggles and longings.

So, let’s not only bring God thanksgiving for everything good, but also the hard things. Thanksgiving Day in the US is a perfect opportunity to pause and be purposeful in being grateful. Somebody once said, “I was complaining and murmuring about not having a nice pair of shoes until I saw a man without legs.” We have more to thank the Lord for than we realize.

A long time ago, I heard about a practice of thankfulness which I’ve practiced myself and have passed onto many people. And today I pass it onto you. I have found this practice literally transforming.

Write down 10 things you you’re thankful for on a 3×5 card. They can be hard things too. For example, you can write, “Thank You, Lord, that You are with Me in this trial and that You are working something deeper through it.”
Thank God twice daily for these 10 things during your quiet time in the morning and as you go home from work.
Every time you think of something negative, replace it with a thanksgiving item from the list.
Continue this practice for 21 days.

Joseph was in great hardship for years: imprisonment, being misunderstood, overlooked, accused, left by his own blood. But you see throughout His story, “And the Lord was with Joseph.” And what about the One unnamed who walked into the fiery furnace? The Lord is not far off and nothing can separate us from His love so let’s not lose heart, but rather be encouraged that we can make it till the end—not somehow, not maybe limping along, no—triumphantly. And for all that He has been, is and will be for the things we understand today and the things we will understand tomorrow, let us give Him thanks.

====

Click here, to read more articles on Patheos by Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan.

Go here to know ore about Dr. KP Yohannan: KPYohannan.org | GoodReads | Radio

Uncategorized

Dr KP Yohannan

KP Yohannan Metropolitan

Previous Post

November 22, 2017

Something Incredible Happens in Our Hearts When We Stop to Say, “Lord, I Thank You.”

Next Post

November 25, 2017 Who Cares for Her? Ponders Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Current Events Devotionals Field Stories From My Books Guest Writer Inspirational Personal Life Spiritual Growth Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2025 June 2024 May 2024 December 2023 October 2023 May 2023 April 2023 December 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 May 2021 March 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz