Archives for November 2015

A Thanksgiving Proclamation

By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

George Washington

From: “Thanksgiving Proclamation, 3 October 1789,” Founders Online, National Archives (http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0091 [last update: 2015-09-29]). Source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 4, 8 September 1789 – 15 January 1790, ed. Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993, pp. 131–132.

Image Credit: Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (1850-1936) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1914, Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennie_Augusta_Brownscombe

God’s Perfect Wisdom in Our Imperfect Circumstances

God knows everything and always does what is best with what He knows. “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Romans 11:33). Moreover, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). God is generous with His gifts and gives us ample opportunities to gain wisdom, though often in ways we might not prefer or recognize. And so in our growing pains, we can sometimes resort to questioning God’s wisdom in the very trials He uses to impart it.

Created and dependent on God for all things, however, we are unqualified to question God’s wisdom in our circumstances. We lack the complete knowledge of how our troubles fit into the greater tapestry of God’s perfect purposes. We know that “all things work together for our good” and that God uses difficulties to not only give us wisdom, but to refine our faith and increase our hope. Yet, our insight and objectivity are often greater looking back than when we struggle in the pain and confusion of a trial.

Think About Joseph
For example, when Joseph found himself in difficult circumstances, did he immediately understand God’s purpose when his brothers sold him into slavery, or when he was thrown in prison on the false charges of a wicked woman? Was Joseph thrilled with his future at that point? Scripture does not tell us, though personal experience gives reason to doubt that he was entirely thrilled. But, whatever his faith and attitude might have been, Joseph did not fully understand God’s wisdom in sending him to Egypt until he became second to Pharaoh and the savior of Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph came to understand that what his brothers meant for evil, “God meant for good” (Genesis 50:20). And from our present vantage point, we now know that God used Joseph to save the family line through which the Messiah would come.

Think About Moses
Raised in Pharaoh’s court, Moses lived in the splendor of the best Egypt had to offer. Yet the would-be deliverer was forced to run for his life after he murdered an Egyptian. As a fugitive, Moses was reduced to tending sheep in the wilderness, a far cry from his glory in Egypt. In fact, ten years later he was still tending sheep. Twenty years later? More sheep. Thirty years? Still more sheep. Not until after forty years did God command the now reluctant deliverer to return to Egypt.

When, then, did Moses understand God’s wisdom in his wilderness experience? After ten, twenty, or thirty years? More likely Moses did not understand God’s wisdom in his forty year detour until he led an even larger flock of sheep out of Egypt into the wilderness for forty more years, with sheep that could complain, worship idols, and throw stones. His earlier wilderness training prepared him well, but he likely did not understand the value or God’s purpose in his education as a shepherd until he had to put it to use.

Think About the Road to Golgotha
Consider the mourners lining the road to Golgotha. How many understood God’s purpose in Christ’s painful journey to the cross? How many knew that His suffering was the greatest display of God’s glory and the means of their own salvation and exaltation? Looking back, when the clouds cleared and the tomb lay empty, many would come to understand God’s purpose in it all. Yet, few, if any, grasped the importance and meaning of what they observed that day.

When all is said and done, God has given us all we need to trust His perfect wisdom in Scripture, in the testimony of His creation, and most clearly in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ. So when the day grows dark and the arrows begin to fly, we need not wait for hindsight to trust Him. God’s wisdom is always perfect in our imperfect circumstances.

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God the Reason: How Infinite Excellence Gives Unbreakable Faith by Dr. Craig Biehl

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How Darkness and Weakness Become Our Strength

Surprising and Vital Support
Life is tough and even tougher when answers escape us in the darkness of our circumstances and understanding. But, in a surprising twist of biblical reasoning, our limitations provide the means to cope with life’s trials and tribulations. Few truths of Scripture are more difficult to accept than our complete dependence on God for knowledge and truth, yet few are more important. Given the infinite excellence of God’s perfections and who we are in relationship to Him, humble acceptance of our limited perspective and knowledge is not only necessary and appropriate, it supplies the ground for a soul-soothing response to profound suffering and evil.

Trust in the God Who Knows
Faith in the face of great problems does not ultimately come from specific answers to every difficult question (though God has provided many specific answers in Scripture). If it did, we would need the infinite knowledge of God for a proper faith in every circumstance. Our perspective is often earthly and short-sighted, while we lack the comprehensive and eternal perspective from which to properly view all things. Our peace, however, comes not from knowing every solution for every problem and mystery, but from trust in the goodness and excellence of the One who does. In the perfect character of God lies our comfort and rest. Here, as elsewhere, we are strong when we are weak (2 Corinthians 12:10).

A Flawless Weave and Weaver
One of the more moving testimonies of our need to trust in God’s sovereign rule over our life comes from the experience of Corrie ten Boom. The narrator of the virtual tour of the Corrie ten Boom Museum tells the story of how Corrie, in her ministry after the war, would carry with her a piece of blue cloth to illustrate how Christians should view life’s difficulties [1]. A survivor of the Ravensbruck concentration camp, Corrie knew difficulties. One side of the cloth displayed a delicate and beautiful embroidered image, while the backside revealed a chaotic jumble of different colored threads of no distinct pattern. In her talks with people she would hold up and show the backside of the cloth, giving the impression that she had held up the wrong side of the embroidery. She would then ask, “Does God always grant us what we ask for in prayer?” After a brief pause, answering, “Not always. Sometimes He says no. That is because God knows what we do not know. God knows all. Look at this piece of embroidery, the wrong side is chaos. But look at the beautiful picture on the other side, the right side.” Corrie would then turn the cloth over to reveal a skillfully embroidered crown, “symbolizing our crown of eternal life.” It was a beautiful image, made with threads of many different colors and overlaid with pearls. She would then quote the following poem:

My life is but a weaving, between my God and me,
I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily,
Oft times He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.
Not till the loom is silent, and shuttles cease to fly,
Will God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the Weaver’s skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned. [2]

Perfected in Weakness Until We See the Other Side
Our past, present and future circumstances lie in God’s hands. With the Apostle Paul and our fellow saints in the present age, we can say with hope and assurance, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). All sorrow and suffering must be seen in light of the brevity of life and endless eternity, the excellence of Christ and the extent to which He went to remedy evil, God’s perfect wisdom in ordering our life and the world, and our profoundly limited human perspective. In God we trust as we look forward to the day when we will see our skillful Weaver face to face, when the “upper side” of His flawless purpose and plan is unfolded before us. Until then, God’s grace is sufficient, for we are strong when His “power is perfected” in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10).

[1] The entire tour can be found at http://www.tenboom.com/en/. The particular account of the embroidered cloth told here is located in section #18 of the tour diagram.
[2] From Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord (Fort Washington, PA; Old Tappan, NJ: Christian Literature Crusade and Fleming H. Revell Company, 1974), 12. Credit is gratefully acknowledged to Grant Colfax Tullar for “My Life Is Like a Weaving.”

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