Rainbows never cease to amaze me, pull me in, and make me want to grab my camera to capture it - again.
But that means there is rain, a storm nearby.
The rain. The sun. = The rainbow.
It's a paradox that my human mind simply cannot quite grasp. The nuance of beauty that requires both the sun and the rain at the same time.
Sorrows, pain, death, disappointments, rejection, and the list can go on with you putting your word on the list, they all darken our skies and cloud our vision.
The calendar says tomorrow is Thanksgiving day. A day where families often gather to eat and a day specifically to give thanks. But so often, this day holds something unseen. It's what we carry within our hearts. Maybe there's an empty seat or two. Maybe life right now is dark and bitter and why in the world would I give thanks?! You may be carrying the unseen weight of grief, disappointments, and pain.
Thanks. Gratitude. Seem so far away. Some may call it toxic positivity or toxic gratitude. It's only toxic when we use it to avoid our feelings and what is going inside of us.
We are to give thanks in everything, not necessarily for everything. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Jesus gave thanks as He broke bread moments before being taken and then later crucified. (Luke 22:19)
This is hard for us humans to grasp. This nuance of pain and the giving of thanks. You may not like what life has given you or where you are at and giving thanks can seem cruel and even toxic. But in this season or place you find yourself in, you can hold lament while at the same time speak words of gratefulness and gratitude for God and His faithfulness, His promises, and for His words of truth. That is healthy thanksgiving. We don't need to choose one over the other, we can hold both, and discover the miracle and mystery of giving thanks.
This is often what we don't want to hear - that pain is needed. In the hands of God and how He works pain and hardship for good, is good. That somewhere and in some place close to us there is the sun's rays of gifts and joys that co-exist with the storm to create a startling and astounding beauty of its own.
The promise of the rainbow. God made a promise to Adam the day He put the rainbow in the sky after the devastation and destruction of the flood. God gives us promises today, as well. His Word is full of His words and the promises of life and truth that give us strength and grace to face whatever lament our heart and mind holds.
And just like the mystery of sun and rain to create the rainbow, so is the mystery of beauty and grace that is formed within us when we hold both the lament of grief and pain along with the gratitude for the promises that God gives to us. He is faithful and we can anchor anything we hold in that.
He is with us in the fire. (Isaiah 43:2)
He gives strength in our weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
He tells us to come to Him and learn of Him and we will find rest for our souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)
He is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1)
And so many more!
This is a life-saving and life-giving gratitude that shifts and changes how we walk through our lament. It gives us the power and strength to be victorious and not let the enemy steal and kill our joy and the life of God within us as the storm rages. The giving of thanks is the shift from focusing on the pain and the lament to allowing it space to be while gazing on Jesus and His faithful promises. And just like it is when there is the rainbow, we ooh and aah at the splendour and beauty; one day we will find peace and rest and proclaim the beauty because of our storm.
So in this Thanksgiving season or any other day (because giving thanks and gratitude is not limited to the calendar day), with the posture of two hands, hold lament in one while you give thanks, for one good thing, with the other. (Psalm 50:14/116:17 & Hebrews 13:15)
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