How to Be Thankful When You Are Broke
Whenever I hear a missionary who has served abroad whether full time or short term speak these are the words I hear when they return, and they are almost always the same, “They (the people they are serving) have so much less than we do but they are happier than we are.” It’s shocking in American society to see those who have little be content. Whether consciously or subconsciously our society has equated happiness with accumulation. It doesn’t just have to be money or things, it can be status, achievements, or friends. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what the “thing” is, the problem is our earthly nature thinks that we can find happiness in something that isn’t God.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[e] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” Matthew 6:19-21, 24[/perfectpullquote]Jesus tells us very clearly in these verses that our heart cannot be divided. We cannot love “things” and God because the things will draw us away from God. it will create in us a divided heart, which will cause us to miss out on encountering God. In Matthew 5:8, Jesus tells us that it is the pure in heart who will see God. He is not just talking about morally right actions here, he’s also talking about being completely focused on God and God alone at the core of who we are.
If we want to be thankful in all circumstances, then our focus in all circumstances needs to be on God. In Philippians Peter says “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (4:12-13) The secret is to keep our eyes focused and our hearts tethered to Christ, and He that will provide what we need. At the end of Matthew 6, Jesus says “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”(6:33) All those things that we desire we do not need to worry about. What we do need to worry about is being completely focused on Christ and he will supply for our needs.
In Matthew 14, Peter for a brief moment walks on the water. Then his eyes turn to the circumstances around him and he begins to notice the waves and the wind and the storm more than Jesus standing right in front of him and when that happens he begins to sink. The secret to being thankful in all situations is to keep our eyes focused on what we do have instead of what is going on around us. It’s so easy for us to focus on what we do not have and that will kill our joy and take our minds off what we do have. What we have is a God who will supply for our every need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phillippians 4:19). The secret to thankfulness and contentment is found in our relationship with Christ.
– Adam Deering
