Must Christians Thank God for Evil Things?

By Patricia Backora
Today a hard-to-swallow doctrine is going around, supposedly drawn
from Ephesians 5:20: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and
the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. At first glance, it
seems you must interpret that verse to mean you must give thanks for
everything that exists in this universe. Even if an unsaved workmate
mails a Christian man a stack of porn magazines for his birthday to
wind him up, thanks must be given unto God for them. Okay, there
might be a loophole here. Maybe the Christian man is freezing to
death and needs fuel for his fireplace. Then he could go back to work
the next day and thank his workmate for how those magazines
warmed up his life. But what if the Christian opened his Bible for
guidance to find out what his attitude should be toward the magazines,
and opened up to Luke 10:8? In that verse Jesus tells His disciples to
eat such things as are set before them. So how does the man apply
that verse to this particular thing that has entered his life? If he truly
thinks that all things are sent to him by the Lord and he has no right
to reject anything, then no problem. So the man's reasoning goes like
this: Reading is mental eating, and God did not prevent the magazines
from coming to him, so why not thank God for them and just enjoy
them? So the man says grace over the magazines and feasts his eyes
on the juicy centerfold.
Preposterous, isn't it? But that's one example of how you must be
discerning in the interpretation and application of Scripture. What
decent Christian man would say grace over satan's centerfold and
devour it? To apply such a twisted interpretation of "eat such things
as are set before you" would mean you have to violate another
Scripture: I will set no evil thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of
them that turn aside (err from the truth). It shall not cleave unto me
(Psalms 101:3). To give thanks for something is to accept it. If you

refuse to let some evil thing cleave unto you, then you also refuse to
accept it.
On a far more serious note, say some prowler breaks into that
believer's house and starts slapping his wife around. Embrace All Evil
Theology expects the husband to stand idly by and not to resist the
evil going on, even if his wife gets killed in the attack. Instead, the
man ought to give thanks for the trial his wife is going through,
because some good might possibly spring from it. Instead of fighting
off her attacker and crying out for her husband's help, the woman
ought to embrace the thug as a blessing sent by God as a teacher to
help her learn patience, longsuffering and unconditional forgiveness.
According to Embrace All Evil Theology,
her husband would be
stunting his wife's spiritual growth by rescuing her and chasing the
assailant away. And worse yet, he would be robbing the criminal of the
chance to see unconditional Christian love, longsuffering, and
forgiveness in action. Nonsense! What decent man would stand idly by
with folded hands while his wife is screaming for help?
Did God send the criminal who attacked the hypothetical victim? No,
satan did! Did God inspire the Christian man's workmate to send the
porn magazines to teach the Christian something? No, satan did! So
who is due thanksgiving if the Christian insists on thanking someone?
The devil! It is his ministry to steal, kill, and destroy, and I don't know
how on earth anybody can thank God for the ministry of satan which
caused the ruination of the human race through the Fall of Adam, and
resulted in Christ having to suffer all the horrible things He did to
remedy that ruination. Embrace All Evil is one of satan's most insidious
religious lies going around in Christian circles today, and it is all the
more dangerous because it sounds oh, so self-sacrificing and
religiously spiritual. But it is really a modern version of the hairshirt
and flagellation penance of the Dark Ages. The form might be different
but the essence is the same.
There is another verse in the Old Testament which reminds us to be
thankful for "all things" with rejoicing. It is set in the middle of a
whole chapter full of terrible consequences (curses) which can befall
you if you don't have a thankful attitude toward all the many ways God
has blessed you. Emotional and physical sicknesses, tragedies, lack of
basic necessities and defeats of all kinds are visited upon the
disobedient and unthankful as punishment. Verse 47 gives the reason
for all the heartbreaking hurts listed there: Because thou servedst not
the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and gladness of heart, for the
abundance of all things.

Once again, you encounter the phrase "all things". Just what "all
things" does God mean? Is He rebuking the children of Israel because
they didn't thank Him for a locust plague, leprosy or battle casualties?
No, God is reproving them for failing to thank Him for good things like
food and the good land He'd given them. And it matters not that that
passage happens to be in the Old Testament. I Corinthians 10:1-10
also speaks of the terrible fate of the children of Israel who complained
against God. They were bitten by serpents and died. The serpent
symbolizes satan. Verse 11 says those things were written as an
example for us, that is, those of us who live in the Church Age. It is
just as undesirable for us to be bitten by serpents now as it was for
Old Testament believers to be bitten by serpents.
Here is what Jesus had to say about serpents wrapped up as gifts, and
how they differ from the kind of gifts God gives to His children: Or,
what man is there of you, if his son ask bread, will he give him a
stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then,
being evil, know how to give GOOD GIFTS unto your children, how
much more shall your Father which is in heaven give GOOD THINGS to
them that ask him? (Matt.7:9-10). If you are given a serpent, then
you should pray and find out whether satan gave you that serpent.
You can still thank God in the situation, because He has the power to
send that serpent back to its rightful owner, satan.
In I Timothy 6:17 Paul writes: Charge them that are rich in this world,
that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the
living God, Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Which "all things"
does Paul mean here? Does God send us heartbreak or hunger to
enjoy? Those two things would be part of the all-inclusive collection of
all things that exist, but common sense tells you that you cannot enjoy
all things now in existence in a sin-tainted universe which has not yet
been renovated by God. Although you are forced to endure many
things in this life, and must seek God's grace to get the victory over
them.
Paul speaks in another place of this idea of God giving us all things to
enjoy in Acts 14:17: Nevertheless he (God) left not Himself without
witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and
fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Paul did not
tell his listeners that the goodness of God is displayed to mankind in
disease plagues and other forms of satanic oppression.

A similar passage is found in the first section of Deuteronomy 28,

before you get into all those terrible curses for disobedience. This
particular section of the chapter details the blessings for obedience, as
distinguished from the curses. I'll cite just verse 12: The Lord shall
open unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy
land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou
shalt lend unto many nations, and shalt not borrow. Notice, this verse
is similar to what Paul said about rain from heaven and fruitful
seasons. That is what God means by blessing His people. Good means
good and bad means bad. If God has changed His mind about what is
a blessing and what isn't, Paul would not have preached to the
heathen about abundance of food and refreshing rain being sent by
God to demonstrate His goodness toward men.
Has God changed His definition of good things and bad things? I don't
think so. A certain politician got caught in a lie and tried to wiggle out
of it. He was asked something like: "Is the allegation true?" His
unforgettable reply: "It all depends on what your definition of 'is' is.
God doesn't talk out of both sides of His mouth like a politician does.
His definition of what 'is' is hasn't changed with the changing of Biblical
dispensations, and neither has His definition of 'good' changed!
Every good gift and and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness
(change), neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). So who do you
think evil gifts come from? Does the evil gift bear the signature of
satan upon it as being a destructive, abominable thing? Jesus said in
Luke 20:25, as he pointed to the image of Caesar on a Roman coin:
Render unto Caesar the things which be Caesars, and unto God the
things which be Gods. If what you have received is satanic, and you
are determined to give thanks for it, dont insult God by thanking HIM
for it! Thank the devil, and hell be pleased as punch that you arent
giving him much of a fight.
Now I'll bring up one verse which theologians of opposite persuasions
have wrangled over because it's been sensationalized too much by
money-obsessed Faith Theology preachers. But you can't throw the
baby out with the bath water, and it means just what it says. 3 John 2:
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in
health, even as thy soul prospereth.
I believe strongly that the "Jesus-died-to-make-you-a-millionaire"
Theology is a Scripture-twisting heresy, so I was tempted to agree
with those who said that verse was only a nice salutation, and that

was all it meant. But this epistle was written by John, one of Jesus'
disciples. John was not one to go around buttering up men in high
places with empty, idle words. Jesus warned that every idle word we
speak we would have to give account of in the day of Judgment. So I
doubt very much John would have penned that verse lightly, saying
that he wished ABOVE ALL THINGS (there we have the phrase 'all
things' again!) that Gaius would prosper and be in health, as his soul
prospers.
If John intended that blessing he wrote to Gaius as only a social nicety,
it was just an idle (non-productive) word. But the fact that
unscrupulous Faith teachers have preached on that verse and misused
it does not mean that verse is not a real part of the Word of God. John
could have written instead: "Brother, I wish above all things that your
fiery trials would get worse. I wish all manner of sickness and
mishaps would come into your life so you would have more
opportunities to grow in grace." With a friendly salutation like that,
Gaius would have said: "With friends like that, who needs enemies!"
If "all things" is to be applied to a prayer of thanksgiving in an allinclusive sense, then God should have accepted the prayer of the selfrighteous Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14: God, I thank thee that I am not as
other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this
publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
The Pharisee made a show of giving God thanks for his own goodness.
Even the Pharisee's hypocrisy would be part of the all-inclusive
collection of "all things" in existence, bad as it is. If All-inclusive
Thanksgiving is a valid doctrine, God should have been as pleased as
punch to get that prayer. That good ol boy Pharisee had a whole list
of religious things he'd done to outshine others and the Pharisee
thanked God for those things. But did God approve of that particular
act of thanksgiving? Apparently not. It was the sinful tax collector
who went to his house justified, rather than the thanks-giving
Pharisee. The Pharisee should have prayed a prayer of repentance on
that occasion, rather than thanking God for the religious things he'd
done. If All-inclusive Thanksgiving were a valid doctrine, the sinful tax
collector might have given thanks for his own imperfect deeds like the
Pharisee. His sins were bad things, but they were things nonetheless.
All-inclusive Thanksgiving would even permit the thieving tax collector
to give God thanks for the money he filched out of some poor widow!
If I were to go eat a meal with someone and we were about to say
grace over our plates, I could concentrate either on thanking God for

what's on my own plate or silently offer thankfulness for the food

that's on everyone else's plates too. I could even give thanks for the
food left in the kitchen. I could, in my heart, offer up thanks for every
item that is in the room or all things which exist in the universe. I
remember one little girl who volunteered to say grace over a meal. As
her parents fidgeted while the food got colder, she thanked God for the
pictures on the walls, the flowers, the blue sky, and everything she
could think of in her little girl world. It brings a smile to my face to
ponder the sincere thankfulness of a tiny child. But it never occurred to
that child to thank God for the last time she had a cold, or for the last
bad dream she had.
Supppose you are a missionary in Africa who is eating with some
natives round a camp fire. You are about to say grace over your plate.
But you see a cockroach on the edge of the plate. You wish you could
just order a fresh plate of food, but you don't want to offend your
hosts who must live daily in unsanitary conditions. So you just brush
the roach off your plate. Then you thank God for "all things" on your
plate, trusting that the food is sanctified and fit to eat, and won't kill
you. You did not thank God for the roach, but you did thank God for
everything that remained on your plate and ate it after God blessed it
unto its intended use, as I've often heard country church folks say.
We do not have to give thanks for the evil things satan puts on our
plate. Unless God shows us to leave the roach on our plate we have
every right to fight to brush it off our plate, to prevent the devil from
destroying any part of our lives. The curses of Deuteronomy 28 were
many and varied, but they all had one thing in common: whoever
suffered those afflictions saw some part of their life destroyed. If satan
can't put all of you in your grave, he will at least try to destroy part of
your life. The devil is a thief as well as a liar. If he cannot kill your
body entirely, he will struggle to steal your finances, your reputation,
your marriage, your health, the list goes on and on. By faith we must
claim our rights as sons and daughters of God, as being redeemed
from the curse of broken law by the death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (I John
3:8), not to put a benediction on them. We must resist the devil so he
will flee from us (James 4:7). God has promised to bruise satan under
our feet (Rom.16:20). In that passage the Lord is called "the God of
Peace", as He is referred to in many other New Testament passages.
We are sons and daughters of the God of Peace, not satan, the god of
turmoil and confusion. On the Cross of Calvary, Jesus redeemed us
from the dominion of darkness. He paid a terrible price on the Cross
to get us out from beneath satans feet. But all too many believers

think it is selfish to want to break free of satans oppressions. They

think they are suffering in the will of God by being the devis
doormats. Tragic.
Dont buy everything you encounter at the religous meat market.
Youve got the right, AND THE DUTY, to prove all things and to hold
fast to that which is good (I Thes.5:21). By clear inference, that
would include the right to reject that which is bad instead of giving
thanks for it. Now, if good and bad things alike must both be accepted
(and given thanks for) on an equal basis, why would you bother to
examine whether something is good or bad before holding fast to it?
Even the fishermen of Jesus' day had enough sense to inspect the
catch in their nets and throw the bad fish away before taking their
catch to the market place. In Matthew 13:47-50 Jesus tells the Parable
of the Net, where fishermen sort their fish. The good is kept and the
bad thrown away. Jesus does not rebuke the fishermen for not saying
grace over the bad fish.
Luke 14:34-35: Salt is good; but if the salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet
for the dunghill: but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear. Jesus did not tell those men to give thanks for the bad salt that
was good for nothing except to be thrown out.
God does not expect a higher standard of conduct of us than He does
of Himself, and that would be impossible to achieve anyway. Does God
Himself give thanks for all things that exist in a fallen universe?
God rejected Cain's offering. He never did thank Cain for it (Gen.4:5).
God rejected strange fire offered on His altar (Num.3:4).
In Old Testament times God would not allow His people to eat (or say
grace over) unclean beasts (see Leviticus Chapter 11).
God would sometimes reject offerings made on His altar by priests
(Mal.2:13).
God loved Jacob and hated Esau (Malachi 1:2-3; Romans 9:13).
Does Jesus embrace all things in existence, even things unholy and
abominable? I very much doubt it. Satan, as well as evil men and evil
things, will be shut out of heaven. Butter and honey shall He (Jesus)

eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good (Isaiah
7:15).
Imagine a church holding a Thanksgiving Day service right before they
partake of a turkey dinner. The church members sit around in a circle
and take their turn offering God thanks for the various blessings in
their lives. "Joe" decides to apply some new teaching he picked up
from some vague source. The lady sitting next to him has just
finished thanking the Lord for her happy home, for her job promotion
and for her salvation in Christ.
Now it's Joe's turn.
He is so
determined to thank God "for all things" that he thanks God for satan
and for the wonderful way satan has made him grow as a Christian
through trying him. The last example Joe cites is this: "And Lord, dope
dealers have moved into my home and taken it over and I thank You
for sending them, even if they wont listen when I try to witness to
them. satan has used those derelicts to teach me such wonderful
lessons in patience, bless his holy name." Naturally the pastor is
shocked and wants to know where Joe picked up that gem of wisdom.
Some absurd extremes can be reached if "all things" which exist in this
universe are to be given thanks for. What if some Tribulation saint fell
for that lie and gave thanks even for the Antichrist, or the Mark of the
Beast? They are things, too.
What if that Tribulation believer
embraced the Mark of the Beast and submitted to it gladly, because
he believed in embracing all evil? But if you submit to the Mark of the
Beast God won't thank you for it. You'll lose your soul and your
chance at salvation (Rev.14:9-11).
God is sovereign. You cannot put Him in a box. If fleas invaded your
home, He would normally expect you to get rid of them in a sensible
way. Corrie and Betsy Ten Boom were two devout Dutch ladies, whose
habit was to keep an orderly, tidy home. But after they were arrested
by Hitler's Gestapo and put in a concentration camp for their faith,
they had no control over their physical environment. They were in a
situation where they had to suffer persecution for Christ's sake.
Corrie and Betsy made the best of a very bad situation. Somehow
they managed to sneak a Bible into their prison barracks, and at every
opportunity they would read to their unhappy fellow-prisoners to try to
encourage them. One day they noticed the whole barracks was
overrun by fleas. But instead of grumbling, Betsy and Corrie felt led to
thank God for the fleas. That is a good illustration of giving God room
to work all things out for good in His sovereign will (Rom.8:28).
Because of that flea infestation the guards refused to enter the

barracks to check on the inmates. So there was much more freedom

for Corrie and Betsy to minister to the others.
Those cruel guards
would have been an even worse torment to them than flea bites. That
was a time of terrible suffering those two ladies endured for their faith
in Christ. But in a time of non-persecution Corrie and Betsy would not
have seen the fleas as a blessing and would have attacked them with a
vengeance instead of patiently bearing them and thanking God for
them.
I'm sure, as they gave thanks "for all things", Corrie and Betsy did not
give God thanks for the terrible gas chambers which destroyed so
many helpless men, women and children. Gas chambers are part of
"all things" that exist in the universe, sadly.
Even Old Testament believers living under the Law of Moses knew the
difference between a blessing and a curse. They gave God thanks for
blessings, not for things which could hurt or kill them. There were even
limitations on which meats they would thank the Lord for. Those living
under Mosaic Law would never have dared to say grace over a Virginia
ham.
Since Christ died on the Cross, some things have changed. Its okay
for a Christian to eat a ham sandwich now because New Covenant
Christians are not under Mosaic dietary regulations. It is in that
context that I Timothy 4:4-5 said that "every creature of God is good
and nothing to be refused, so long as it is sanctified by the Word of
God and prayer." Romans 14:14 was also written to resolve the heated
issue of whether Mosaic dietary regulations were still in force upon
believers in Christ. Paul wrote: I know, and am persuaded by the Lord
Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that
esteemeth (believes) any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
A few sinners
twist that Scripture to mean that even acts of
immorality cannot be rejected as unclean. But whatever you do out of
rebellion toward the will of God, is unclean. At the first church council
in in Jerusalem, the Apostles forbade Gentile converts to eat things
offered to idols (Acts 15:29). Peter and James had grown up as Jews
who ate only Kosher food, but they did not forbid Gentile Christians to
eat shellfish. However, those men felt led by the Holy Spirit to issue
four necessary prohibitions which specifically banned fornication, food
offered to idols, the consumption of blood, and meat from strangled
animals. Things such as these could not be included in prayers of
thanksgiving "for all things".

In Revelation 2:20 Jesus Himself reproves the Church of Thyatira for

allowing Jezebel to teach His servants to commit fornication, and to
eat things sacrificed to idols. Even if those who indulged in idol food
went through the motions of thanking God for it, they were still guilty
of sin for deliberately defying God's commandment not to partake of it.
We may not be under Old Testament dietary restrictions on what
species of animals we may eat, but those four prohibitions are still in
force because they were issued by the original apostles, and the
Church is built upon the foundation of those apostles (Eph.2:20). On
that basis, and because I think its gross, I dont believe in eating
black pudding (blood sausage). Mosaic dietary ordinances may have
been nailed to the Cross of Calvary (Col.2:14), but can the Old
Testament principle of rejecting certain physical things as unclean be
applied as an object lesson to teach New Testament believers to reject
things which are spiritually unclean?
Surely it can. Paul quotes Old Testament Scripture as he exhorts
Christians to keep themselves separate from the iniquity of this world.
Wherefore, come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the
Lord, and TOUCH NOT THE UNCLEAN THING; and I will receive you (II
Cor. 6:17).
You are not to even TOUCH
abominable things of
wickedness, much less give God thanks for their existence! You can
enjoy shrimp cocktail if you want to. You could even say grace over a
meal of witchety grubs if you were dining with Aborigines in the
Outback of Australia, and the meal would be sanctified by the Word of
God and prayer (I Tim.4:4-5). But God has discriminating tastes. If
you say grace over the magic mushrooms youre about to dine on and
ask Him to bless your trip to the next dimension, He wont honor that
prayer.
In I Corinthians Chapter 5 Paul mentions a sordid case of immorality in
the Corinthian church where a man slept with his own stepmother.
Paul definitely did not give thanks for that ugly situation. Nor did he
command the church to give God thanks for it. Instead, he rebuked
the church for tolerating such perverted behavior and allowing it to
continue for some time. About the only good to come out of that
situation is later, when after the other church members have shunned
the man out of their fellowship, the man repented and they were able
to confirm their love toward him as a restored brother in Christ (II
Cor.2:5-8). Through this sad thing, the others learned how to love and
forgive.

God has the power to salvage good out of bad things. But the devil
wasn't trying to help that backsliding Corinthian Christian grow
spiritually. He was out to destroy that man, and when he attacks you,
he is trying to destroy you too! Old sluefoot knows we have but a short
life span in this world and if he can't get us to turn back to the ways of
darkness, he will at least try to hamstring our ministries as Christians
by causing setbacks and hurting us in any way he can. If he can keep
you sick or preoccupied with fixing things he damages in your life,
there will be much less time and energy to devote to others.
All-inclusive Thanksgiving is a kissing cousin to the pagan philosophy
that evil is only in the eye of the beholder. Here is a little story to
illustrate the absurdity of that thinking:
A certain man has gotten thrown into a pot of boiling water by the
devil. The unfortunate man feels the pain of the hot water and keeps
trying to hop out before he turns to soup stock.
Along comes a very religious man to give him advice: "Trust me. Ive
walked with the Lord for X-number of years, and Im a very wise
Christian. The problem, my friend, is not with the hot water, its your
attitude toward the water."
"But it hurts!" the poor man wails, resisting his buddys efforts to
plunge him deeper into the boiling pot.
"Lets take it one step at a time, then. Can you at least give God
thanks in the hot water, if you cant give Him thanks for the hot water
youre in?"
"O Lord," the unfortunate man prays, "I give You thanks that youre
able to get me out of this predicament."
Cool as a cucumber, his buddy rebukes him: "What a self-centered
prayer, prayed out of a heart full of fear, not faith! If you were any kind
of a decent believer at all, youd not only thank God for being in the
hot water, youd even be willing to stay in it forever, and youd offer
up thanks for the hot water as well."
"I cant do that!" the man groaned, still struggling to get out.
"The reason you cant give thanks for the hot water, friend, is your lack
of vision," says his self-righteous critic. "All you see is youre being

boiled alive. You ought to give God thanks for all things, even this
soothing bath the devil has drawn for you."
There is a time for all things. A time to give thanks and a time to fight
the enemy. As Paul taught his converts, give thanks unto the Giver of
every good and perfect gift. God does not instruct us to give thanks for
abominations the Lord Jesus died to set us free from.

Jobs Comforters Rub It In

When life hits rock bottom, who does a wounded Christian turn to? If
he is fortunate he will find a caring counselor with a listening ear and a
mouth which is slow to criticize. It has often been said: God's army is
the only one which kills off its own wounded. Someone full of religious
rhetoric but short on empathy will sit pretty on his serene mountaintop
and look down judgmentally at the saint under fire by the devil. He
(or she) will pick at the poor Christian for being unable to endure the
trial with great joy.
Some saints sing through even the worst trials, and so long as they do
it because Gods anointing rests upon them, that is wonderful. But all
too many Christians dont want to let down other Christians who
expect them to go through life with a permanent smile plastered on
their face. Tormented saints are afraid theyll be criticized if they
mourn over some devastating loss in their lives. A Jobs Comforter
Counselor expects that a Christian ensnared in the devils web and
taken captive by powers of darkness ought to clap his hands and
rejoice with singing....even if his heart is broken to the point of illness.
But thats just as heartless on the counselors part as expecting singing
and rejoicing out of the Jews taken captive by Babylon. Was their
captivity an occasion for singing songs of joy?
Psalms 137:1: By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we
wept, when we remembered Zion.
VERSE 2: We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
VERSE 3: For there they that carried us away captive required of us a
song, and they that wasted us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs
of Zion.
VERSE 4: How shall we sing the Lords song in a strange land?

Some saints weep to remember better days when they enjoyed Gods
blessing upon their circumstances. Job himself remembered better
days in Job Chapter 29: He recalls that glorious period of his life when
he could feel the light of God resting upon his head. But now Jobs
world is one of doom and gloom. The bright joy he once knew is like a
tarnished penny.
Job recalls Gods blessing on his flocks and
oliveyards. He pines away for the days when he had wealth to use to
bless the widow and the fatherless. Nowhere does God castigate Job
for mourning his losses. The Jews taken captive wept as they
considered the spiritual blessing they had lost, and the Holy Temple
which had been destroyed.
The captives hung their harps of rejoicing upon the willow tree and
wept. Their captors wanted them to sing, but the very effort to sing
made them choke on their tears. Singing would have been out of place
in that profane place of captivity. Unless God bestows an anointing of
joy and unless the Lord gives the song, you cant require music out of
a crushed soul. Paul and Silas were beaten and locked up in jail and
the Lord led them to sing (Acts 16:25:44). They didnt sing because
another Christian told them they had to do it to be spiritual giants.
They obeyed the inner leading and unction of the Spirit. As a result,
the power of God came down and they were released from their
captivity. The anointing destroyed the yoke of their captivity (Isaiah
10:27). The jailer and his whole family got converted because the
jailer saw how God was mighty to deliver His people.
Unless God chooses to defeat the enemy through praise and gives the
song Himself, there is a time to hang your harp of singing on the
willow tree and instead, hold the Sword of the Spirit to battle the
enemy. Unless God Himself lifts the burden, there is a time to weep as
well as a time to laugh; a time to mourn, not just a time to dance
(Eccl. 3:4).
You who have been misjudged for having human feelings, believe me,
I've been there too. Many, many moons ago, I was minding my own
business one afternoon when two supersaints from the church knocked
on my front door. At least it wasn't our "Christian" landlord coming for
more money. I was surprised to see those two ladies, since they'd
never bothered to call on me before. One of them happened to be the
church busybody. They couldn't have picked a worse time to come by.
Bad weather had interfered with my husband's outdoor work, and he
hadn't gotten paid yet. That day I didn't have any refreshments in the
kitchen to share with them, just a box of baking soda, as I recall. But
they made a real meal out of me, and it was well worth their while to

come over. To the delight of "Susie Q", they got me to admit that I felt
bad about how some brother in the church had defrauded my husband
of badly needed wages and never reconciled with us afterward. While
this brother lived on easy street, we were living from hand to mouth.
That man's wife had been one of my best friends before she married
him, and she had little contact with me afterward. Well, Susie Q. said
piously: "I'm really surprised at you. I looked up to you."
As they darted out the door with their juicy tidbit, the other lady said:
"I'm going to fast and pray about this." Well, at least those two had a
choice about their abstinence, and whenever they decided to end their
self-righteous fast, they could go out to Burger King and stuff their big
blabbermouths. I didn't have that option. I was hungry and expecting
a child.
Those two supersaints were long on armchair religious
rhetoric and short on the practical kind of love Christ has called us to. I
hadn't asked them to come and meddle. They'd only made my trial
worse by coming by to minister condemnation.
How easy, to exhort someone else to cheerful patience and endurance
when your own existence is a rose garden without thorns. You will
never, ever, hear me thank God for the works of the devil in my own
life, and especially not in someone else's life! Am I going to thank God
that my brother suffered from such a bad eating disorder that his
weakened body finally succumbed to the cancer that killed him?
Should I thank God for the agonizing way my dignified dad died, fed
by a stomach tube and partially paralyzed by a stroke? Should I thank
God for the worries my poor mother suffered over Dad's hospital care,
and the fact she was too poor to pay for it? I won't insult the Lord by
sanctifying the works of the devil with a prayer of thanks. Instead, I
would offer up a prayer for deliverance and thank God that He is able
to undertake for me to set me free from satans oppression.
It seems like the doctrinal pendulum has swung from one extreme to
another: from saying that Gods children should NEVER have to suffer
to the other: implying that the Lord cannot be pleased with His
children unless they are in a continual state of suffering, as penalty for
their descent from Adam. If there is still a penalty to pay for that fact,
then the redemption of Christ is yet incomplete, and how can anyone
explain that mortal Millennial saints will get to live for 1,000 years free
of heartbreaking trials? (Isaiah 65: 17-25). That passage speaks of a
future generation of mortals, who will engage in agriculture and bear
children. It cannot be speaking of the immortal state of blessedness,
because only mortals can give birth to children. The Millennium will be
a time of near-paradise conditions on earth, not a fiery furnace where

people must take abuse from the devil. If God must punish us with
tragedy for being descended from Adam, then to be fair, He would also
have to punish those other mortal people in the same way. We suffer
today because satan has not yet been confined to his holding tank to
await his future execution.
He will be confined throughout the
Millennium (Rev.20:1-3).
Speaking of paradise, I can thank God my brother repented and is in
heaven now. But if I were misguided enough to thank God for the
horrific pain my poor brother went through, you could surely question
whether I even loved my own brother.
Would I have wanted
something for him that I wouldn't wish for any animal to suffer?
Am I going to thank God that my husband has suffered continual
severe pain from a construction accident he had back in 1984? NO!
But I can thank God for the wonderful way He spared Tom's life
recently and the progress he has made in being able to walk with a
cane and getting around every day. And before anybody tells me
Tom's pain is a gift from God to rejoice over and be thankful for, be
mighty careful! Would you yourself be prepared to go through 24/7
pain I can't even begin to imagine? Those who boldly brag: "Whatever
God sends I'll cheerfully sail through with flying colors", those are the
ones who are opening themselves up to the possibility of getting a pop
quiz in Patient Endurance 101.
Some theologians focus only on the fact that God is able to salvage
good out of bad things. But while some suffering is unavoidable, other
suffering people can bring on themselves through disobedience,
making bad decisions, etc. David committed adultery with Bathsheba
and ended up having her husband killed so he could take Bathsheba
into his harem. David suffered terrible consequences for his sin,
including the death of the baby born of his illicit affair. God did bring
good out of that terrible thing in the form of godly descendants which
sprang from David and Bathsheba. Thanks could be given to God for
the likes of King Hezekiah, King Jehoshaphat, and King Josiah, who
while they might not have been perfect men, served Israel as godly
kings. Jesus could trace his own
ancestry back to David and
Bathsheba through their son Nathan (I Chron.3:5; Luke 3:31).
Yet it surely wasn't God's perfect plan for David to commit adultery,
even if good was salvaged out of the situation. That sin almost cost
David his soul.
It did not bring glory to God, and it created
opportunity for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (II Sam.12:14).
Thanks could not be given for the sin itself. David could have gone to

hell for committing it. Not only did David's infant son die, but many of
his other family members suffered ripple effects of divine retribution
for his sin.
Job is cited in the Book of James as an example of patient endurance.
Endurance is the key word. Job accepted having to go through the trial
as the will of God, but while Job endured the trial, he did not ENJOY
the trial, which is what some believers think God requires of us.
Throughout the Book of Job, Job laments over the injustice of his
sufferings while his know-it-all "friends" castigate him for complaining,
because surely he must have done something bad to deserve his
misery. In Job Chapter 3 Job curses the day he was born, and wishes
he hadn't even been born. Yet James still cites Job as an example of
patient endurance. Why? Not because Job gave God rapturous thanks
for His traumatic trials, but because Job did not lose his faith in God.
There were other saints who did not break forth into heavenly
jubilation when they were severely tried. Elijah got so depressed by
Jezebel's persecution he wished himself dead (I Kings 19:4-7). But did
God rebuke Elijah for not having a better attitude toward his trial? No.
God sent an angel to minister to Elijah's physical need of food, to
strengthen him so he could go on. Far from rejecting Elijah, God
rewarded him with a privilege only one other mortal man is recorded
to have received: Elijah was taken up into a whirlwind to heaven
without first dying (II Kings 2:11).
The prophet Jonah did not even thank God for what he should have
seen as a miraculous blessing: the repentance of an entire city after a
campaign of half-hearted preaching Jonah did out of duty, not love.
Jonah, like Elijah, said it would be better for him to die than to live
(Jonah 4:1-3). Jonah's lack of concern for the Ninevites salvation was
appalling, but God did not chuck Jonah out because of his faults and
failings as a man. The Ninevites and other Assyrians were a military
threat to Israel, and Jonah felt uneasy about God sparing that nation.
But God gently reasoned with Jonah and provided shelter to protect
him from the heat. God understands that we are but dust (Psalms
103:13-14).
Even if some preacher wears a string of degrees around his neck and
wears an ecclesiastical miter as tall as the Empire State Building, don't
let him sit in judgment on you before he has first gone through what
you've suffered. If you still have nightmares from your school days
when you were being bullied on the school bus year in and year out,
don't let that spiritual butcher make you feel bad just because you

can't give God thanks for the monstrous abuse you endured on that
bus. It wasn't that preacher's pain, it was YOUR pain!
Perhaps there are those who find it a challenge to give God thanks for
a financial setback which was caused by catastrophic illness in the
family. And that awful trial struck in spite of the fact the saint gave
generously to bless others and worked hard to prosper in business.
Perhaps that trial led to homelessness for the saint, so that his family
had to stay with relatives for awhile. What if, because of their
unearned setbacks, they were perceived as losers who couldnt make
their way in this ruthless world? Trials are like rabbits. Give 'em a
chance and they'll multiply like the ripples on the surface of a pond
multiply after a single stone is thrown in.
If you admit to some religious expert that you're still living with the
bad effects of past trials, both circumstantially and emotionally, watch
out! Darts of condemnation are apt to fly your way. If you can't be
glad about being mired down in permanent trial, you just might be
accused of being too self-centered to give God glory for your suffering.
And such blame is apt to proceed from the mouth of someone sailing a
smooth sea.
To rebuke someone for admitting that their trials hurt and they don't
enjoy them is as stupid and callous as upbraiding a man because his
leg hurts all the time. Pain in the soul is every bit as real as pain in the
body. Which lives forever, the immortal soul or the perishable body?
It's safe to say that the religious expert who exhorts saints to rejoice
when they suffer undeserved financial ruin has no first-hand
experience of what they are going through, and has got a tidy nest
egg stored away for himself somewhere. He rests in the certainty that
his own never-ending rainy day shall never come to trouble the blissful
blue of his sky.
As for this business of rebuking others who dont thank God for it
every time satan attacks them, consider the following verses:
2 PETER 1:3: According as His divine power has given unto us all
things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of
Him that hath called us to glory and virtue,
ROMANS 8:32 He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up
for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Which "all things" does God freely give us? Does He give us a
rattlesnake and tell us to kiss it? If that Scripture is trying to comfort
a Christian by promising that God will freely give him cancer, how can
that reassure a believer? Nonsense! Peter said that God has given
unto us ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO LIFE AND GODLINESS, not
things that pertain to death and depression. If it does not pertain to
life and godliness, God did not give it to you. Satan did!
How could you possibly have a thankful attitude for EVERYTHING in
existence? How could any sane individual give God thanks for the
Holocaust? If such unthinkable words were ever expressed, they could
never have come through Jewish lips.
The word "compassion" comes from Latin words which literally mean
to "suffer with". Romans 12:15 exhorts believers to rejoice with those
who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep. It doesn't say to
rebuke those who weep from the pain of their tribulations. How can a
PHD Pharisee who has known only sweet acceptance understand a
teenager or adult who has been subjected to protracted periods of
bullying or other rejection? How can someone who has known only
prosperity and health understand someone who must cope with illness
or disability in the family?
God gave us taste buds for a reason, not just so we could discern
cordon bleu from MacDonald's. When we taste something foul or
bitter, we have reason to suspect that it is poison. Would God not give
us at least as much discernment in the spiritual realm as He does in
the physical? If satan is trying to destroy me in any way, the
experience will have a bitter taste about it, and I have just as much
right to spit his food out as I would to spit out sour milk I didn't want
to digest. God no more condemns us for spitting out satan's religious
lies than he would if we refused to drink spoiled milk. God's people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). We must know our rights
as sons and daughters of God, and one of those rights is to not be
beneath the heel of the enemy (Rom.16:20).
Is it a sin to cry instead of rejoice? The shortest verse in the Bible is
John 11:35: Jesus wept. Two short words, but they speak volumes
about Jesus' humanity. Jesus knew more of the principles and ways of
God than anybody else ever has, and yet He did not go up to the
mourners at Lazarus' funeral and chastise them for crying instead of
rejoicing and giving thanks. Jesus did not give God thanks for the
suffering that Lazarus did, or the suffering Mary and Martha did. But
He did give thanks and glory to His Father for the miracle everyone

was about to witness (John 11:41-44). And Lazarus rose from the
grave, not because Jesus was too spiritual to cry, but because Jesus
exercised authority over the dominions of darkness which had put
Lazarus into the grave in the first place.
Many of King David's Psalms were composed out of a heart of grief and
sadness, as he was hounded by his enemies for many long years.
Isaiah the prophet mourned like a dove as he pleaded for God to
intervene in his situation (Isaiah 38:14). Many first-century Christians
were in heaviness through manifold temptations (trials):II Peter 1:6.
Peter was wise enough not to upbraid them for this, even if he does
say trials have a purpose for growing faith (verse 7.
It is in such a stressful time that we should stop and ask ourselves: Is
the Lord in this, or is the devil trying to get me to swallow rat poison?
Jesus Himself drank to the dregs a bitter cup of suffering so we could
be saved (Matt. 26:39,42). He had been protected from earlier
attempts to kill Him, such as when the townspeople of Nazareth tried
to hurl Him off a cliff (Luke 4:28-30). On those occasions He was
spared the bitter cup of death, though it eventually came to Him.
Many times God's well-meaning people stop resisting satan because
they think it is selfish to want to be free of his oppressions. They say
all their suffering is from God and they must submit to it. Some say:
"Slaves have no rights." True. But Galatians 4:7 says we are no more
servants (in the sense of a fearful, cringing slave), but sons. We serve
and endure what God appoints out of love, not fear. But if satan is
hindering your life and outright destroying you, you have a right to
use the weapons of the Spirit to stand up to him (Ephesians 6:10-18).
One time Jesus was asked a trick question: Is it lawful to pay taxes
unto Caesar, or not? (Luke 20:22-26). Jesus asked someone for a
penny and asked them: Whose image is inscribed upon this coin?
And they said: Caesar's.
Jesus' classical response: Render therfore unto Caesar whatever is
Caesar's and unto God whatever is God's.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient
(Dictionary definition: suitable for achieving a desired end): all things
are lawful for me, but all things edify not (I Cor.10:23).
This is a very wise teaching. Even if you don't consider it a sin to take
the occasional glass of wine, it is better to just have a Coke when you

are around believers who differ with you on that issue. As Christians,
the "desired end" which we wish to achieve is to edify our brothers and
sisters in the faith, and to be a good example around sinners. Far
better to draw their attention to the New Wine of the Holy Spirit which
fills our hearts with a joy this world can never know.
The same principle would apply when you're a meat-eater eating with
Christians who think it's wrong to kill animals in a society where
"cruelty-free" foods are freely available. No Scripture commands you
to eat meat every night, and without making unnecessary waves you
can just fellowship with the vegetarian believers over their cashew nut
roast as you also partake of the spiritual meat of the Word of God.
But the main thrust of that verse was not what I found shocking, it
was the idea of "all things" being lawful. And that verse appears
immediately after a stern warning from Paul about not partaking of
"the cup of devils" and the "table of devils". How, then, can Paul
seemingly contradict himself and say that "all things" are lawful?
Doesn't the all-inclusive collection of "all things" in existence also
include the cup of devils and the table of devils?
In reading that chapter you immediately realize you must keep the
words "all things" in their proper context. The remainder of I
Corinthians 10 clarifies which "all things" Paul means, those which
pertain to eating and drinking. Paul wasn't talking about such things
as crack cocaine being lawful for us. He wasn't talking about Ouija
Boards or Tarot Cards being okay. He was talking about all things God
created in the way of food and drink!
That passage alone should reassure Christians who think that Eph.5:20
commands them to give God thanks for heartbreaking illnesses,
disasters and other works of satan in their lives. To thank someone for
something is to accept it and give no resistance to it. But you can
either thank God for something or you can thank somebody else. Who
gives you temptations which can lead you to hell if you accept them
and carry them out? The devil does! God would never tempt a
Christian to go join some cult which promises an easier way to bliss.
The devil sends such temptations, and God does not desire or require
thanks for things which satan sends to dishonor Him. He is, however,
to be thanked for sending the power of His Spirit to keep you on the
Narrow Way to Life whenever you are tempted by satan to stray. In
that way the Lord can get glory out of your struggle against
temptation.

In Luke 20:25 Jesus says that Caesar has those things that belong to
him and God has those things that belong to Him. Give Caesar (or
whoever) what belongs to him, and to God what is due unto Him. If
satan sends you a lemon you can sometimes make lemonade out of it.
But if he sends you a temptation to go run away with your neighbor's
wife, that lethal temptation did not come from God. You should always
thank God for victory in trial, but you should also objectively ascertain
the correct giver of the destructive elements of the trial. God is a
good God and the devil is a bad devil. Thanks for every good and
perfect gift is due unto the Father of Lights (James 1:17).
Are we commanded to give thanks for all things which exist in our
world, without first checking to see whose trademark is on that thing,
and whether it glorifies satan or God? God speaks through Jeremiah
the prophet in denouncing things which are displeasing unto Him: And
first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they
have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance (the Land of
Israel) with the carcases of their detestable and abominable THINGS
(Jere.16:18).
Ezekiel receives a similar word from the Lord for
apostate Israel: Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; surely,
because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable
THINGS, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish
thee, neither shall mine eye spare, neither shall I have any pity (Ezek.
5:11).
I doubt that any sane Israelite would have dared to thank God for the
existence of "detestable things" in his land. God would surely not have
been pleased with such a prayer of thanks!
We live under a more enlightened Covenant. There are things in
existence which God still hates and considers abominable. Surely He
doesn't desire that we give thanks for them, but war against them in
the Spirit instead.
Must we go on being satans doormats instead of resisting him? God
can and does use pain and misery to teach His children when He cant
get their attention any other way. But if your trial is literally
destroying your peace of mind, ripping your family apart, making you
homeless or sending you to an early grave, check to see if it has the
signature of satan upon it. His signature is, essentially: Steal, Kill, and
Destroy (John 8:38). Then, if you insist on thanking anyone for your
own destruction, render thanks unto whom it is due, not unto your
Loving Heavenly Father, Who sent His only begotten Son to give us
life, and life more abundantly.