Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. (Philippians 1:3)
Various events stimulate us to give thanks to God. It might be when we receive an unexpected gift, or when we hear good news. We make it through a difficult trial, and we give thanks for the successful ending of that period of time. Someone we know has been in harm’s way, and when we see her, we blurt out, “Thank God you are safe! Didn’t know that I would ever see you again! I was so worried about you!”
Paul highlights another stimulus right at the beginning of his letter to the believers of the small Jesus’ following who were living in the town of Philippi: whenever I think of you, I thank God.
The Philippians had ministered to him repeatedly. His memories were those of a people on his side, working hard to encourage him. They had stood with him freely and generously—nothing had forced them to do so. As he was confined to a jail cell or house arrest, he meditated on his interaction with those who had helped him, and he said, “Whenever I think of you, I’m thankful to God.” They were special friends!
Let’s admit it; sometimes when we think of certain people, we don’t thank God! Our memories are not pleasant. We might have had a run-in with them, or a series of run-ins that just didn’t get resolved. A disagreement that just couldn’t be solved. A parting of the ways, and if we are honest, it sort of feels like “good riddance.” Or, when we think of certain people, we have a spontaneous physical reaction that tells us we are in a strained relationship. While some of those scenarios cause us pain when coming to mind, we know there are certain people who cross our mind and bring a smile. Remembrance of them causes us to thank God. Those are the ones who bless our lives and build us up, and our first thought is one of joy and thankfulness.
In the past few months, I have added a special group of a short list of men to my daily prayer list. These are ones who have walked with me on life’s journey consistently over many years. They have fed into my life, and mentored me, and encouraged me. They have held me accountable. They have prayed for my wife, and for my children. One of these men started that process of “feeding into me” even before I had a wife and children! That’s a verified long road of coming alongside to help. And they have all done so without letting me hear any complaints! They have generously and freely contributed to my advance in maturity and increase in faith. All of these men have been with me through good times, and through hard times, and for at least 20 years. When I think of them, I thank God!
A friend called me recently. He had been forced out of his leadership position some years ago, and he said he had been reminiscing and he wanted to tell me, “When that happened, you were one of the only ones who reached out to me. I can never thank you enough.”
It’s interesting as I look back on that time, that I didn’t reach out because I was eventually seeking to extract from him his word of thanks! I didn’t even know that he would one day look back on it and think of it as a special remembrance. I thought what I did was actually a minor thing, and in fact, a very logical response of a Christian brother in relationship to another who was hurting. But to him it was obviously much bigger than that. And to this day, he remains grateful. He has expressed his gratefulness to me on multiple occasions. I’m humbled by his remembrance.
What is coming to mind today that causes you to give thanks to God? It might be an experience that you’ve had in the recent or distant past. It might be a special gift that you received out of the blue. Whatever it is, I would venture to say that it’s more than likely that behind that smile of remembrance is a person who has had an impact on your life. It could be a stranger or newcomer who entered your life, and then cycled out. But more than likely, it’s a person you’ve known for a while, perhaps a long while, someone who contributed to your well-being and kept you moving forward.
Regarding those who have contributed to keeping us moving in the faith, and have ministered to our needs, and provided a place for encouragement, growth, and honest reflection, they are easy to thank God for! It seems that the Philippians served that role for Paul. Here’s a challenge: reach out to someone today, like Paul did, and say, “Thank you for what you’ve meant in my life. I remembered today what you did for me when I was in a particular situation, and I want you to know how much you blessed me.”
“Father, thank you for those who have especially fed into us and built up our lives. We can’t thank you enough for placing people around us who have been encouragers, through good times and bad. Open our eyes today to see someone, whether a long-time acquaintance or a stranger, who needs a boost, and may we be your hands and feet in their midst.”
Freddy Boswell 