Is it possible to give thanks in the middle of war? Sometimes it’s the brutal reality of living in conflict that reminds us of all we have to be thankful for!
Here are some reasons we can still give thanks in Ukraine!
Give Thanks Because Our God Is Still in Control
Take a couple of minutes and watch the video in this post. These are kids from our church, here in Odessa, Ukraine and they’re singing about how our God gives us rain. This was part of our harvest celebration last Sunday.
The chorus goes something like this:
It is He, our Lord, who hides the water in the clouds,
It is He, it is He who keeps lightning in his hands.
It is He, our Lord, the Lord of angry thunderstorms
He spread through the heavens a bright bridge.
What a great reminder! No army can control the rain or direct the thunder clouds, no human ruler can order the wind or stop the lightning. These things are in God’s hands!
Give Thanks for the Simple Things
We tend to complain about those things that bother us and usually they aren’t the basic necessities of life. This Sunday we were reminded to be thankful that we have bread on the table and clothes on our back. If we have those basics then we have more than some and we have enough to live another day!
Give Thanks for a Place to Lay Your Head
Today I talked with a friend who is a refugee from Donetsk, he showed me a picture of his street. His house is only about a mile from the Donetsk airport. Grad missiles, Uragan missiles, mortars and tanks have destroyed every single house on his block, except for his! Miraculously it is still standing after several months of heavy fighting!
Pray for my friend, he’s planning to go back to Donetsk to care for some elderly church members in the next few days!
Give Thanks for the Opportunity to Serve
For our family we thank God for the opportunity to be in Ukraine at a time like this and to serve our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. Ministry is work but it’s also a privilege and a deep joy! We are thankful that we can serve here!
Give Thanks for the Present
Honestly many Ukrainians are worried about the future. Elections are coming up this month and a sense of uncertainty is growing. More than a few people have told me of their desire to move out and get away from it all.
Yet!
Our harvest celebration encouraged me. It reminded us all to give thanks for what God has already given and what we have now!
It reminded me not to worry about tomorrow!
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matthew 6:34
Give Thanks for Your Brothers and Sisters
There’s nothing like giving thanks to God with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Corporate thanksgiving is powerful because it turns your perspective away from yourself.
It helps you realize that God has placed you in a community of people who love Jesus and who stand by your side through the trials of life!
We are thankful for our church Hope for People and are also thankful for our many supporting churches and brothers and sisters in Christ in the US who help keep us here.
If you want to join that team you can do it here.
Thank you!
Yes, even in wartime God gives us reasons to give thanks. It’s encouraging to see churches in Ukraine thanking God for his blessings!
Maureen Ray
October 15, 2014I’m I am pleased you and your family have not had to flee to somewhere. This is indeed a great blessing. We have been keeping up with events online. We can say that in our morning prayer times we try to start our prayer time by thanking God for all He has done for us, especially by way of His divine discipline for I know this is evidence of His great love us both and I have wondered many times, whether He laughed at (my) antics and shook His head and then set about showing me His ways. Nonethless we do have much to praise the Lord for in our lives. God is at work in answer to our prayers and this week my grandson Arron (I know – bogan spelling) but Arron’s mum Donna is gloriously saved telephoned us both to ask us to forgive him for his behaviour and all he said to me when he lived with us for two months – which seemed awfully long. Arron said it was all demons. Anyway he asked me for DVD’s and CD’s of Daryl Gilyard (a pastor I love very much though he sinned greatly) for Arron said he thought Daryl was the best preacher in the world. Daryl has been given a wonderful gift. Arron also asked me – praise the Lord – if I would baptise him when he next came into town and said he could not think of any better and that it would bless him so much. I do treasure this development so very much. We will baptise him in the Bogie holes at Mollymook beach near to us. So we have much to praise the Lord and we are both so very grateful. Oh! did you enjoy Dr Arnold’s Condition of Salvation. We have just been reading “a critique on a book “Constantine’s Sword” the Church and the Jews by James Carroll. Must obtain the Book for the critique was excellent. May you yourselves be blessed as you serve him so far away from us. Thank you for dropping this into my inbox it has been so very comforting to me.
Caleb
October 15, 2014You’re welcome Maureen! Many blessings to you.
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup
October 16, 2014Giving thanks for the simple things is so important! I recently wrote about post about 31 things I thank God for. It was the simple, the difficult, and even the challenging things. When we focus on His gifts, we find them everywhere. They are simply too numerous to count. It does my heart good to hear that even where you are, you are thankful. You are all in our prayers!
Caleb
October 16, 2014It’s just a lot easier to focus on what we don’t like and complain about it but you’re right, once you start looking for God’s blessings, you find them everywhere!
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup
October 18, 2014My latest post is dedicated to you and your family, Caleb. As always, you are in our prayers. http://myoverflowingcup.com/when-all-you-can-do-is-pray/
Caleb
October 18, 2014Thanks for the link, I’m going over there to check it out right now.