The euphemism “thanks for everything” has been used sarcastically to suggest that the deed should NOT have been done and is not appreciated. Have you ever said this? Have you ever felt this? Know you are not alone.

In these difficult times, people find themselves saying things like this. With unemployment on the rise and the holiday season upon us, many find themselves saying, thanks for everything! Bills in front pockets and back pockets, money in no pockets, the cry in disgust of thanks for everything is heard. Divorce and the destruction of the nuclear family evoke the visceral groans of thanks for everything! These are a few of the ills that are pressing upon the landscape of human existence.

During these difficult times, we turn to the Scriptures as a primary source of solace and solidity. In 1 Thessolonians 5:18, the Apostle Paul encourages the reader: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

A truly religious life is a life of constant joy. And we should rejoice more, if we prayed more. Prayer will help forward all lawful business and every good work. If we pray without ceasing, we shall not want matter for thanksgiving in everything. We shall see cause to give thanks for sparing and preventing, for common and uncommon, past and present, temporal and spiritual mercies. Not only for prosperous and pleasing, but also for afflicting providences, for chastisements and corrections; for God designs all for our good, though we at present see not how they tend to it. We must be careful not to quench the Holy Spirit, by indulging carnal lusts and affections, minding only earthly things. Believers often hinder their growth in grace, by not giving themselves up to the spiritual affections raised in their hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Oxford Dictionary defines thanks:

1. To express gratitude, appreciation or acknowledgment to.

2. Thank God (used interjectionally to express relief, thankfulness, etc.).

In a People magazine article featuring the MTV reality show Run’s House, rapper-turned-minister Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons and his wife of 12 years, Justine, go through perhaps the most difficult event parents can face: the loss of a child. Halfway through Justine’s pregnancy, doctors discovered that their developing baby girl had an omphalocele, a birth defect that caused her organs to grow outside her body. The devoutly religious couple decided to go ahead with the pregnancy.

Rev. Run calls the baby’s death “the biggest tragedy anyone could imagine.” He insisted that MTV’s cameras capture everything.

Rev. Run: “We found out that there could be a problem mid-pregnancy. The doctors told us that the baby’s organs were growing outside of the body. I’m a preacher; I’m not going to get an abortion. Our strength came from, ‘God can create miracles. This baby can be fine.’ We stopped looking at the sonogram and walked in faith.”

Rev. Run: “God, in my mind, gave us something to go through in front of America, so we documented it on camera – not so much to show you sadness, but to show you how we, as ministers, would handle this tragedy.”

The human response to pain and adverse situations is to become cautious and even calloused. The apostle warns us to not become fixed on the perils of our present, rather, to focus on eternal/long-term fulfillment. This is what makes Rev. Run’s testimony powerful. Amid his greatest tragedy, his greatest praise came forth. In your present situation can you tell God “thanks for everything”?

— The Rev. Lee Turner is pastor of Center Baptist Church in South Union.

Editor’s note: The Daily News invites clergy in its seven-county readership area – Warren, Allen, Simpson, Butler, Logan, Barren and Edmonson counties – to submit columns. For more information, contact Assistant Managing Editor Andy Dennis at adennis@bgdailynews.com or at 783-3262.