Thorns, Thistles, and This Temporary World
Finding thankfulness in the challenges of this life through God’s love for us
“Be thankful for the thorns and thistles which keep you from being in love with this world...”| Charles Spurgeon
Sometimes, life just isn’t what we want it to be. There are some days where life throws you curve balls you simply can’t hit. You know how that goes, right? We’ve all experienced those moments and seasons in life when happiness and contentment seem as elusive as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. No matter how hard we try and no matter how much we pray, we can’t seem to find a solution.
For my wife Becky and I, our journey through life as parents of a kiddo with special needs has presented plenty of curve balls and we’ve had more than our fair share of strikeouts along the way. However, there are some days that are just different. While the circumstances for our family are often very different than we ever expected or wanted, every now and then, we’re presented with tests and trials we not only don’t understand but also seem completely unnecessary in a world where God is ultimately in control.
We were recently in one of those multi-day stretches with our son Isaac where the realities and the impacts of how God made him were heavier and more exhausting than usual. When those moments with him occur, we’re forced to adjust our family schedules and our work schedules while also experiencing stress, anxiety, sadness and frustration that we tend to translate into actions that may not always be as graceful as we’d want.
Seeking to care well for Isaac and our family in those moments, we attempt all the tactics and tools and tricks we’ve learned to reverse whatever is prompting the challenge. But when things are at their worst, we rarely find the answers we’re seeking in the timeframe we want and that can lead us down a path of so many questions and so few answers. Even on the best of days, we find ourselves asking plenty of “why” questions to God but in those more difficult moments, finding the faith to believe God’s promises can truly be a test.
Does that resonate with you? Have you ever found yourself feeling so defeated and so exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually that you’ve questioned God and challenged him on his motives? Oh yeah, me neither (this would be a great place for a sarcasm font)!
But, hypothetically speaking, if we ever find ourselves in that place, there is peace for us in knowing and believing that God is big enough and loving enough and gracious enough to handle our questions, challenges, and emotions because his desire is to be glorified by bringing us closer to him. The more I read Paul’s letters to the early church (especially Philippians), the more I’m reminded of the peace, joy, and contentment he experienced by embracing God’s plan to use the most difficult moments in his life as pathways for him to experience God’s loving presence more fully. I want that for you, and I want that for me.
As Becky and I found ourselves entangled in the most recent set of struggles for Isaac, a close family friend sent us a quote from Charles Spurgeon, the world-renowned English pastor and preacher from the 1800’s, and the quote is a beautiful reminder that God doesn’t want us to love anything in this world more than him.
“Be thankful for the thorns and thistles which keep you from being in love with this world,” is a line from a sermon preached by Spurgeon that centered on Genesis 3:18 and God’s words to Adam, “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.” The words from Spurgeon echo God’s words while serving as a reminder to me that God does his best work in the most difficult circumstances.
The discouragement we encounter in this life is heavier than we want it to be. There are some days when it seems no matter what we try, we can’t and won’t overcome the weight of the opposition. The truth of it is we’re not enough to overcome it, but despite that defeat, we do have hope because Christ has already conquered it for us. Jesus speaks of that reality in John 16:33 when he says “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” And though he has defeated sin and death, Jesus does not back down from the inevitability that we will encounter difficulties and challenges in this life.
That reality takes us back to not only the words of Spurgeon in his sermon on thorns and thistles, but also to the words of Paul in Romans 8:18 where he writes “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” God calls us to be so in love with Him that we embrace the sufferings of this temporary world as a path to know Him more, both in this life and in the glory that is to come. And when we do that, we can be thankful for those thorns and thistles because we see God’s love for us revealed through them.