Ask with Thanksgiving (Santa Bless You!)

Bill Brown .... Xiamen University

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, with prayer and supplication, and thanksgiving, make your requests known to God." Philippians 4:6-7

When I read the verse above, I feel like complaining, "But Lord, this isn't nothing!" But the verse has 3 important lessons:
1. Don't worry ["continually"]
2. Ask.
3. Ask with thanksgiving.

1. Don't worry. Jesus said, "Which of you by worrying can add an inch to his height?" He taught us that if our Father cares for the countless sparrows of the fields, and cares for them, how much more will he care for us. In the sermon on the mount (Matthew 6:25-34), Jesus said "For this reason I tell you, do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

Jesus did not say food and clothing were unimportant. Without them, we die (or get arrested for indecent exposure). Jesus merely said that if our Father blesses us with life (and we are all only one heartbeat, or one breath, from death), then He can feed us, and if He can create our body, He can clothe us, even as He clothed Adam and Eve. But if we are mature, He will usually give only after we ask--and some healthy anxiety may precede the asking.

When Paul wrote, "be anxious for nothing", he did not mean to NEVER be anxious. The Greek meant, "do not be CONTINUALLY ANXIOUS." If my children hunger, I will be anxious--but I will not wallow in anxiety. That solves nothing, and only makes me sick. Instead, my anxiety prompts me to solve the problem by asking the Father who gives me life and health to give my children food and clothing. (And He probably won't just drop them out of the sky, but instead give me opportunities to obtain them).

2. We Must Ask. When my sons were at home, I fed and clothed them whether they asked or not. Now that they have left home, I still help them, but because they are mature [sic] adults, I expect them to know what they need, and to ask for it. When they ask (and they do!), I help meet their needs, and sometimes even their wants, though sometimes I delay giving because of my own financial limitations.

Our Heavenly Father has no limitations, but He too sometimes delays giving if 1) what we ask for is not best for us, or 2) we do not ask!

In John 14:14 Jesus said "Ask anything in my name and I will do it." That is an amazing statement! But the operative word there is "ask." We must ask. And as Paul elaborated, we must "ask with thanksgiving!

3. Ask with Thanksgiving. We should ask with thanksgiving because 1) in spite of our need, we already have much to be thankful for, and 2) we know that our Father will meet our present and future needs.

It's a cliche, but true: the man with no shoes is better off than the man with no feet. And you and I are especially blessed, especially in these turbulent times. If you can read this, you are 1) literate, 2) literate in English, 3) you can use a computer, 4) you have access to the internet. You and I have much to be thankful for--but do we ever thank our Father?

Santa Bless You! In 1993, Xiamen shops sold Chinese Christmas cards that read "Santa Bless You!" I wish I had bought one! But there may have been some truth in it, because we tend to come at our Father with a year-round wish list as if He were a Heavenly Santa Claus.

Parents are happy to help the child in college, but if they only wrote to ask for money, and never bothered to thank us unless they were buttering us up to ask for more, how would we feel? We could probably relate to our Father, when His children speak to him only when reciting their wishlist for the heavenly Santa Claus. Let's do more than just ask. Let us ask with thanksgiving. And better yet, let us sometimes give thanksgiving without asking for more!

Belated Thanksgiving. Several of my Xiamen University Chinese MBA students asked me on Thanksgiving, "Did you have turkey today?" I answered, "How could I? I have six hours of class today!" But rather than feel sorry for myself, or let them feel bad, I hastily added, "but I'm having it Friday night, with my family, and about 150 people in our Xiamen International Christian Fellowship."

I could have complained that I had to teach on Thanksgiving (and they've scheduled me for six hour on Christmas Day as well!) But I choose to be thankful that I have a job. I can complain that I have 260 grad students this semester, with no assistant. But I choose to be thankful that these 260 students are 260 opportunities to touch the lives of those who are shaping China's future. I can complain that Xiamen government is increasing taxes every year, but I can also give thanks I have income to tax. I have much to complain about--but much more to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving! And may every day be a day of Thanksgiving, not just for what we've received, or for what we are promised, but for who our Father is, and who He has made us.

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