Tag: thanksgiving

Moving the Goalposts

By Ife J. Ibitayo

After a year of writing, editing, (attempted) fundraising, and polishing, I’ve completed my first comic book. Some of my friends have asked me how it feels to have finished Let My People Ball #1, but I don’t have much to say. I’m hurriedly preparing for Los Angeles Comic Con next month, still trying to figure out this behemoth called “social media marketing”, and already iterating on Let My People Ball #2.

The Goalposts

If I’m honest with myself, one reason I’ve plowed ahead is that reflection can be painful. Looking back on this past year, seeing all the false starts, mistakes, and sacrifices, I have to ask myself, “Has it been worth it?” And I must answer this question with 20-20 hindsight and 0-0 foresight.

I’ve been watching the hit TV show Suits on Netflix recently, and it’s made me acutely aware of some of the logical fallacies I too easily fall into. One of them is called moving the goalposts “in which evidence presented in response to a specific claim is dismissed and some other (often greater) evidence is demanded.”

In this specific case, the goal is achievement. “You wrote a book? Heh, good for you,” mocks the derisory voice in my head. That milestone is worth celebrating when I’ve sold my thousandth book. Scratch that! We can pop champagne once I’m a New York Times Bestseller.

But the truth is that when we make our achievement contingent on outcomes that are largely out of our control, we deprive ourselves of the joy we need to eventually get there.

The True Story

There is another, more nefarious side to this dogged “achieve-ism”. When we neglect to acknowledge our accomplishments, we are also dismissing what God has accomplished through us. The Apostle Paul said to “Rejoice in the Lord always and give thanks to Him in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 17). But we often make our praise contingent on what God has done for us rather than who He is to us. We withhold our gratitude and thanksgiving because deep down, we must see God’s goodness to believe it. We doubt the story He’s writing in the ink of our sweat and tears truly has a happy ending.

Conclusion

So I say to you, fellow author, land that publishing deal. You, striving athlete, win that championship. Or if you’re Gen Z—like my little brother, “get that bag.” But remember that the most important things in life can’t be mounted on your mantle or summed up in your bank account.

 If you’ve finished composing the greatest sonnet the world will never hear, celebrate! You graduated from college without a job? You still made it! Sometimes we need to validate our hard work first and trust that the glory will follow later. And as we wait, we can rejoice in our God who works together all things for our good and His glory.

“Do no throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”

(Hebrews 10:35)

Death, Taxes, and Setbacks

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Benjamin Franklin famously claimed there are only two certainties in life—death and taxes. But I’d like to posit one more: setbacks. And put simply, setbacks suck. They suck the joy out of our day, the wind out of our sails, and the life out of our bodies. When our company lays us off or our girlfriend suggests we “take a break” or our long-awaited callback never comes, we can be driven to despair. With tears streaming down our faces, we may ask, “God, where are you?”

Death

My most recent setback made me think of the story of Lazarus. This man was one of Jesus’ closest friends when He walked here on this earth. But when his sisters, Mary and Martha, told Him “the one whom He loved was sick” (John 11:3), He waited, He lingered, and He delayed. By the time He arrived on the scene, the man was already dead.

Martha confronted Jesus and cried, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” In response, Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.” And Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:21-24). In other words, “Eventually, You will make this right.”

God tells us that He is in control. He was at the beginning, and He knows the ending. And Romans 8:28 says that “all things work together for the good of those who love Him.” But often it can be all too tempting to hedge this promise with the word “eventually”.

Taxes

It’s kind of like when the IRS takes too much money out of our paycheck so they make it up to us in our tax return the following year. Similarly, some of us might believe God has written us an eternal IOU–to be paid after we die. Maybe after this life, in the sum balance of things, we will appreciate this point of pain. But at this moment, it feels like God has forgotten that we’re still among the living.

But Jesus challenged Martha to enter into an even deeper level of faith by telling her “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Then He asked her to roll away the stone where Lazarus’s body was laid. In other words, He was asking her to have faith not just for the ending somewhere out there but also for the middle right here and now.

Life Beyond Setbacks

God is a God of detail. The Old Testament is full of chapter upon chapter detailing the minutia of God’s dwelling places here on earth, the garments of His earthly priests, and the hundreds of ceremonial laws God had in place for the Jewish people. And this detail extends to us. When Jesus said that “even the very hairs of our heads are all numbered,” (Matthew 10:30), He was not pointing out an OCD fixation of the godhead. He was demonstrating that God cares about the details even we tend to overlook.

The same applies to God’s plans for our lives. God told the prophet Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). God knew about that bombed interview, accounted for that failed exam, and prepared for that missed flight long before we even existed. Our moments of misfortune cannot negate the unfailing promises God has in store for us, or else He’d cease to be God.

Remind, Rely, and Rejoice

So, what do we do in the midst of setbacks? We remind, rely, and rejoice.

First, we remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness in the past because we will forget. Our brains have a well-known tendency to deeply imprint negative experiences and neglect positive ones called negativity bias. Therefore, we must actively work to call to mind those moments in the past when God came through for us.

Secondly, we must rely on God to guide us past our setbacks. One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture comes from the book of 1 Kings. In the middle of a war between the Israelites and a fierce rival of theirs at that time called the Arameans, God said, “Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand” (1 Kings 20:28). Sometimes we fall into this same fallacy. We claim God’s provision in our triumphs but we neglect His grace in our setbacks. God is with us both on the hills and in the valleys.

And lastly, but possibly most important of all, we must rejoice during our difficulties. The gospel singer Marvin Sapp has a song called “Praise Him in Advance” that begins with these words:

I’ve had my share of ups and downs,

Times when there was no one around,

God came and spoke these words to me,

Praise will confuse the enemy.

It confuses the enemy because most of us tend to base our happiness on our present circumstances. If times are good, we praise God, but when they’re bad, we doubt Him. But thanksgiving has the power to turn our focus from our problems and our pain to God’s power and God’s plan.

Conclusion

Setbacks may be inevitable but so is the Lord’s provision. The Word says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand” (Psalm 37:23-24). Our heavenly Father gives us permission to admit we may not be quite perfect yet. We can confidently trip our way through life because He’s holding us up. He’s been holding our hand from the day we were born, and He will continue to do so until the day we die.

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
(Deuteronomy 31:8)

I Thank God for Family (I Thank God For… Pt. 4)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1: “I Thank God for Gratitude”. For Part 2: “I Thank God for His Promises”. And for Part 3: “I Thank God for the Memories”.

Family is a complicated word. When we think of gratitude, the furthest people from many of our minds is our family. Even in my own life, some of my deepest wounds have come from my parents and siblings. But family is special to God because that is who He is.

An Old Family

When God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper [counterpart] suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18), He created the second family in all of existence. God was never alone. Since eternity past, He’s always been Father, Son, and Spirit—the Trinity. And that is why Jesus spends His time on earth calling God His Heavenly Father.

The Father loves the Son (John 5:20), and the Son pleases the Father (John 8:29). Their relationship with one another—along with the Holy Spirit, is unparalleled, and this is the type of relationship God calls us to enter into with our earthly family.

A New Family

For many reasons, our earthly family may not be our blood relatives. Due to trauma or other unfortunate life circumstances, we may not have spent Thanksgiving with anyone who shares our last name. But the beautiful thing about the Christian concept of family is how expansive it is.

Through Christ’s death on the cross, He inaugurated a new type of family, one not bound by the blood of our ancestors but the blood of our risen Savior. In the book of Galatians, Apostle Paul says, “In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith…There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26, 28). So Christ connects us believers in a way that transcends gender, ethnicity, and even ancestry. And through Him we are forever family.

Conclusion

In the past decade, Friendsgivings have been on the rise. One of the most intimate family moments of the year has begun to be shared with close friends. While some lament the dissolvement of family traditions, I believe this phenomenon may be a good thing. The root is connection, whether by blood or by faith, and as we transition into the Christmas season, we can be grateful we have our tribe to celebrate with.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”
(Psalm 133:1)

The Most Dangerous Weapon in the World

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Highs and lows have filled my holiday season. I relaxed with my parents while we watched a blockbuster movie. Then I rushed to the toilet as my dinner found a new home. I played video games with my little brother on my laptop. Then I cursed that same machine for suddenly bricking out on me. Turbulence was my only constant during this past Thanksgiving holiday.

And the same is true for our nation. Within the space of one short week, we celebrated justice as three guilty men were condemned and decried injustice as one guilty man walked free. Or was it three innocent men who were condemned and one innocent man exonerated as many assert? Have I gone too far? Should I just stop talking politics and stick to the Bible?

Dangerous Speech

Speaking of the Bible, John the Baptist was murdered for denouncing injustice. He was incarcerated and eventually beheaded because he called out King Herod for marrying his brother’s former wife. I sat in church one Sunday and heard a message that heaped the blame onto John the Baptist for “veering out of his lane.” His calling was to be Jesus’ forerunner, to prepare the way for the Messiah. But once he’d finished his job, he ran out of topics to cover. So he started speaking on things he had no business talking about. And that was why he was killed (Mark 6:17-18). But since when did the living Word become divorced from the lives we live?

Dangerous Silence

Some say that the Bible is silent on many issues that stir the hearts of Americans today. And they argue, “Where the Bible is silent, we are silent.” But that logic doesn’t hold water. Consider if a mother commands her son not to punch his brother. Then the child starts slapping his sister. When his mother sits in him timeout, does it really make sense for her son to argue, “But you never send anything about punching my sister?”

The same principle applies to the Bible. Some say that the Bible says nothing about abortion. Yet the Bible says, “‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image’” (Genesis 9:6). Just because this verse does not explicitly refer to “man” as “helpless baby” doesn’t mean that the Bible says nothing about abortion. Likewise, even though the Bible does not explicitly say “you shall not target other people on the basis of their class, gender, or ethnicity,” it does say, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself. For love does no wrong to one’s neighbor” (Romans 13:9-10).

Conclusion

When Christianity is constrained to Sunday services and church buildings, it becomes dangerously close to a prescription drug we take on a weekly basis. ” But it was crafted to be a “sword that pierces our very souls” (Hebrews 4:12). If we let the Bible dictate the way we view all aspects of our lives–from the way we treat our families, to the way we work our jobs, and even, dare I say, the way we view politics–then it becomes the most dangerous weapon in the world.

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

(James 1:22)

The Day the LORD Has Made

By Ife J. Ibitayo

“This is the day the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). This verse is so oft-repeated, especially during the Thanksgiving season, that it’s been drained of some of its gripping power. Some might breathe a sigh of relief as this month gives way to the next, as if to say, “Now that November has passed, I can stop being thankful.” But November was never intended to be our single month of thanksgiving each year. Rather, it stands as a reminder of what we should be doing each and every day.

James Madison once said, “No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of Events and of the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States…He protected and cherished them under all the difficulties and trials to which they were exposed in their early days.” And not only in the early days, but now as well. We’ve braved the pandemic, protests, and politics of these past couple years, and we’re still here. We’re still breathing, when so many millions are not.

As we sliced the turkey and shoveled food onto our plates earlier this week, I had a new appreciation for the simple things. Food and family, camaraderie and champagne, laughter and love all make life worth living.

 This coming week, we return to work, school, and stress. Life will flood back in. But let’s not let it drown out our many reasons for gratitude. For this is still the day the LORD has made!

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

(Philippians 4:4)

Goldfish from Heaven

By Ife J. Ibitayo

There is one snack I’ve never grown tired of. These orange, fish-shaped munchables come equipped with a quirky grin. I even remember the jingle: “The snack that smiles back: Goldfish.” But as I wrapped up my shopping at Wal-Mart this past week, I realized how creepy a concept that is.

We often go out of our way to make food look as little like the original animal as we can. We don’t want to see the strangled chicken or the gutted cow or the suffocated fish with its glassy eyes. When we see such things, it reminds us of the pain the creature experienced to become our sustenance. Yet cheddar goldfish gladly smiles at us as we mangle, pound, and chew away at it.

The Mangling, Pounding and Chewing of Jesus

Using similarly graphic language, Jesus said, “Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink” (John 6:54-55).

In an Old Testament passage on the suffering servant, the prophet Isaiah says, “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). In order to become our salvific supper, Jesus’ back was mangled by lashes, His wrists pounded by nails, and His back chewed up by a rough, splintering cross.

The Smile of Jesus

Yet the prophet Isaiah goes on to say, “the Lord was pleased to crush Him severely” (Isaiah 53:10). The Father actually delighted in crushing His Son on the cross. And even Jesus Himself, “for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). What’s going on here?

God loves us so much that He was willing to become our divine goldfish, our sacred snack that smiles back. As He suffered for our sins, He smiled because He knew that His beating would mean our healing (Isaiah 53:5), His abandonment our adoption (Galatians 4:4-5), and His death our life (Romans 6:4).

Conclusion

I lied. There are actually two snacks I’ve never grown tired of throughout the years. The second, the goldfish from heaven, is not a meal to be partaken once but every day. As we enter into this coming month of November, let’s start—not end—with Thanksgiving. Let’s appreciate and worship our Savior who rejoiced as He suffered for sinners like you and me.

“Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by his wounds we are healed.

“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.”

(Isaiah 53:4-5, 11)

The Good, the Bad, and the Theory

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Three words—Critical Race Theory—have sparked tremendous debate in the past couple months. One of the main questions that is being asked is: What is the point of history? “According to the American Historical Association and Fairleigh Dickinson University, 70% of Democrats say that the study of history should question the past, while 84% of Republicans say that the goal is to celebrate it.” But is the picture really so black and white? Tomorrow, on July 4th, should we laud the greatness of America or ponder its shortcomings?

The Good

The United States has an amazingly blessed and tremendously rich history. We stand on the shoulders of our founding fathers: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin to name a few. We evangelized the world through the centuries, from the sterling preaching of D.L. Moody to the thundering sermons of Billy Graham. We’ve innovated, revolutionized, and developed on land, air, sea, and even space. Time would fail me to tell of all the other great accomplishments that Americans have achieved. When I say I am proud to be an American, I say it with my whole being.

The Bad

Yet there is another side to this story, one that many Americans have been recently forced to confront. When our forefathers came to the United States, they didn’t “discover” a new and uninhabited land. They stole it from the Native Americans and wiped them out.

Rampant xenophobia hasn’t been aberrational and intermittent. It’s been baked into the very bedrock of our country from July 4, 1776. After our founding fathers went up to Philadelphia and wrote, “We hold this truth to be self-evident that all men are created equal,” they returned home to their wives and children on their slave plantations. We deported over a million Mexican Americans during the Great Depression to reserve jobs for white people. And while fighting to free Jews from concentration camps overseas, we relocated thousands of Japanese Americans to concentration camps at home. Just like the good, time would fail me to tell of all the great evil America has perpetrated as a nation.

Conclusion

Many who read this article will want to embrace the good and “move past” the bad, or they’ll neglect the great to focus on the evil. But God has called us to a higher standard. Just as the Israelites had an amazing heritage (Romans 9:4-5) and a tainted legacy (Psalm 106), so does the United States.

As we gather in our backyards to celebrate all things American, we should be willing to grapple with our shortcomings as well. And we should take time to thank God that He has preserved our nation for 245 years!

“Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created.”

(Psalm 119:90)

The Quenching Tsunami and the Purifying Fire (Broken Hallelujah Pt. 4)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1 on “A Foundation of Rejoicing and Regret”, click here; Part 2 on “Expecting Much but Finding Little”, click here; Part 3 on “A Tearful Thanksgiving”, click here.

The book of Psalms is the Christian poster child of the Thanksgiving season. These poems have greatly cheered my soul and contain rich wisdom for us during this holiday season.

A Faithful God

In Psalm 89, a psalmist named Ethan the Ezrahite extols the faithfulness of God: “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make Your faithfulness known through all generations…. ‘I have found David My servant; with My sacred oil I have anointed him… I will maintain My love to him forever, and My covenant with him will never fail’” (Psalm 89:1, 20, 28 NIV).

The psalmist rejoiced in the LORD’s unchanging character. God promised that He’d be with the Israelites and with their king, David. He vowed they’d be His people and He’d be their God forever (2 Samuel 7:24).

A Quenching Tsunami

Yet the psalmist’s joy was quenched by the harsh tsunami of reality: “But You have rejected, You have spurned, You have been very angry with Your anointed one…How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will Your wrath burn like fire…Lord, where is Your former great love, which in Your faithfulness You swore to David” (Psalm 89:38, 46, 49 NIV)?

Many of us may share this same sentiment. We live in a nation known for the blessing of the LORD, yet America is being ravaged by a resurgent virus. God seems to be pouring out His wrath full blast upon us. Where is His right hand of blessing, His strong arm of salvation, the comfort of His presence? Where is His faithfulness?

A Healing Punishment

Bridging the psalmist’s song of praise and his lament of sorrow are these four verses: “If his children forsake My law and do not walk according to My rules, if they violate My statutes and do not keep My commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes, but I will not remove from him My steadfast love or be false to My faithfulness” (Psalm 89:30-33 ESV).

Discipline is never welcome. A child will never thank their parents for being grounded, and a driver will never thank a cop for a speeding ticket. But its these very punishments that can heal our destructive habits. Judgment can sometimes be the only way to save us from ourselves.

Conclusion

Psalm 89 ends with “Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen” (Psalm 89:52 NIV). These words may seem misplaced, but they are truly fitting. The end result of a lesson well learned should be gratitude. The fire of discipline may be agonizing, but there is a bright future ahead for those who endure the flame.

“And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, ‘My child, don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.’”

(Hebrews 12:5-6 NLT)

A Tearful Thanksgiving (Broken Hallelujah Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1 on “A Foundation of Rejoicing and Regret”, click here. For Part 2 on “Expecting Much but Finding Little”, click here.

With Thanksgiving coming in a couple weeks, many positive scriptures are rightly on people’s minds. Verses like “the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b) pop up in our “Verse of the Day” apps. And we find ourselves repeating these words without grasping the original context in which they were spoken.

Background

The LORD had restored the exiles to their homeland of Jerusalem. They had just finished reconstructing their city’s protective wall. But the returnees were few in number and homeless (Nehemiah 7:4). It was the beginning of the Israelites’ holiday season, the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. But here they were living in ruin, far from their friends and families still in exile.

New Year

The first day of the seventh month is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. As the Jews stepped into a new year, they sought the LORD’s will.  “[A]ll the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel… He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:1,3 NIV).

As we step into a new year, a new presidency, and a new phase of this pandemic, we need God’s word more than ever before. The book of Psalms says, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105 NLT). As we venture into new territory, it’d be wise to not journey in the dark.

Fresh Tears

The book of Nehemiah goes on to say, “All the people wept as they heard the words of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:9b ESV). Simply hearing the word of God is not enough. The hearts of the Israelites were clearly moved by the message Ezra read to them. When was the last time you wept while reading the Bible? When was the last time the living Word challenged you to change the way you live your life? When was the last time Holy Scripture pierced you to your very core?

Conclusion

As the Israelites wept, Nehemiah encouraged them with the words, “‘Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!’…So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them’” (Nehemiah 8:10,12 NLT).

As we prepare to fill our bellies with delicious grub, we must approach the dinner table aright. Let’s weep over the ashes of our nation decimated by disease. Let’s acknowledge how far we’ve fallen short of God’s holy standard.  But let’s also find joy in the strength of our LORD and rejoice mightily before Him.

“Many are they who say of me, ‘There is no help for him in God.’ But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.”

(Psalm 3:2-3 NKJV)