On Thanksgiving, Hope, and Peace
by Brandon Peevy (PO ‘21)
It is through Him, and only through Him, that the Christian can have a true and everlasting sense of peace, hope and thanksgiving.
It is almost comical how quickly things can change from relatively stable to absolutely chaotic. In February of 2020, the United States seemed poised to beat the coronavirus. As such, my college assured us that we had nothing to fear and that campus life would continue as normal, albeit with more hand sanitizer stations than usual. This all changed in a month. By the time spring break rolled around, we were told to pack our belongings and go home; we wouldn’t be coming back to campus after the break.
Within a month, my world came crashing down like a house of cards. My soccer season (both indoor and outdoor) was cancelled. I had been with these teammates for the past three years, and this would have been our last season together. The law school exam I had been studying for was not only postponed, but it was also shifted to an online format, which carried with it a steeper grading curve. My summer plans were also altered. My plans for an internship were dashed, and numerous club and fellowship opportunities were cancelled. To top it all off, we were told that we wouldn’t be returning for the fall or spring semesters of my senior year. I may never see some friends again, and I will probably have to graduate from home.
2020 was a rough year, and my experiences were relatively mild compared to what others had undergone. We have all felt the sting of the global pandemic, economic hardship, and political strife. Not only this, but many have also experienced civil unrest, numerous manmade and natural disasters, and a host of other issues. 2021 isn’t shaping up to be much better. When considering all of this, it is all too easy to fall into a rut of depression and hopelessness. With each passing day, wave after wave of negative news seems to roll in. Nothing seems to improve, and the future truly seems hopeless. There seems to be no room for joy, peace, or hope.
This is how I felt for a decent portion of last year. However, as I was reading the Bible and taking note of God’s numerous promises, I was reminded that things should not be this way. As a Christian, I know there is another way to live in which I can have a true and everlasting sense of peace, hope and thanksgiving. The difference lies between either living and being affected by outward circumstances or relying on God, the Christian’s solid, eternal, and permanent anchor. It is through Him, and only through Him, that the Christian can have a true and everlasting sense of peace, hope and thanksgiving.
On Peace
The world believes that peace is ultimately reliant on outside circumstances, or the absence of anything and anyone that would cause strife or chaos (at least according to the dictionary). This may sound nice, but not only is this form of peace unsustainable, but I also would argue that it is impossible as well. One of the few facts of life is that everything changes, no matter how much we may wish for things to stay the same. If our peace is reliant on shifting and fluid circumstances, then our peace cannot be said to be solid at all. Rather, it will ebb and flow with time. This form of peace will only disappoint in the long run.
Case in point: it could have been said that I was at peace before being sent home. Both my indoor and outdoor soccer seasons were going extremely well. In fact, we would have been strong contenders for winning the finals. Over the summer, I had planned to intern with a local criminal defense attorney. In the fall semester of my senior year, I had a great chance to get into Sontag, one of the much-coveted senior apartments at Pomona. Everything was going well. However, these circumstances quickly deteriorated. With them went my peace, and I was awash with stress and worry. Until recently, peace for me was nowhere to be found. I tried to isolate myself from everything that caused strife (this was easier with the shelter-in-place order), but I still didn’t have true peace — I still had my thoughts, fears, anxieties, and stresses to deal with. I discovered that worldly peace isn’t really peace at all — it is merely the uneasy waiting periods between chaotic events. True peace must be something more.
Where then does the Christian peace come from? The short and simple answer is God Himself. The Christian God doesn’t ever change. More than that, He cannot change. By definition He is the same “yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Thus, any peace centered on God won’t change either.
In addition, Christians can also be at peace because we know that God is always watching over us. As King David expressed in his psalms, it doesn’t matter whether we ascend the highest mountain or descend into the lowest valley. It doesn’t matter how far north, south, east, or west we go. It certainly doesn’t matter how early we rise or late we stay up. God always has His eyes on us, and there is nowhere we can go and nothing we can do to change that. When we pair this with His nature of being kind, loving, merciful, and compassionate, we see God not as a punisher, waiting for us to slip up, but rather as our Heavenly Father who watches over us to care for and protect us. God knows us better than we will ever know ourselves, and He has our best interests at heart. The Christian can be at peace knowing that our God is watching over us no matter what happens.
On Hope
Similar to peace, the worldly version of hope is reliant on outside circumstances and ultimately oneself. We may hope for things, but we lack the power to actualize these desires. Additionally, this hope depends on favorable circumstances (which rarely line up). Like with peace, the worldly conception of hope is fickle and open to constant contingencies. Events will change it, and disappointments will ruin it. It is less solid assurance and more a desperate wish. At best, worldly hope is only achieved by striving for it. At worst, it is nothing but a foolish pipe dream.
I hoped to succeed in my soccer season. This hope depended on the absence of an injury and my team winning our games. Similarly, I also hoped to intern at the Public Defender’s Office. However, this hope was woefully reliant on the interviewers liking me more than anyone else applying. To take things even further, I had desperately hoped to end my senior year with a bang by resuming in-person classes. So many things had to line up for this hope to be realized. The coronavirus had to be under control both in my state and also in California. College still had to be affordable despite the economic downturn. The 5C’s had to not only have effective safety measures in place, but they also had to receive clearance from county officials. My college had to actually allow students to come back. I could go on and on, but the result is the same. These conditions didn’t connect, and my hopes were dashed. My worldly hope was a worthless one.
What about the Christian’s hope? Like before, the Christian hope is in God Himself. How exactly does that work? Looking back to our peace, the Christian once again relies on the fact that God cannot and won’t change. It doesn’t matter the day or week or year. God is the same. He does not grow tired or weary. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere. He is certain and constant. Thus, the Christian hope, when placed in God, is certain and constant as well.
Additionally, God cannot lie. Part of God’s nature is the fact that He tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth at all times. He doesn’t hide the truth or misrepresent it. As such, our God is completely trustworthy and His word is true. This pairs nicely with his omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. Since God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere, there is nothing and no one that can interfere with or keep Him from carrying out His will. As a result, the Christian hope in God fulfilling His word and plans is more than a wish; it is a confident expectation. Since our hope is infinitely solid, what we hope for, provided that it is aligned with God’s will, is as good as received.
What exactly is the Christian hope then? As stated previously, the world is a chaotic place. Each passing day appears to bring with it a new dose of disaster and bad news. Perhaps the greatest hope for Christians is the hope that one day, this all will cease. As God says in Revelation 21:4 “[I] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The Christian hopes and longs for the day when God will do away with evil and make the “old things new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Christian awaits the day where there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more murder or poverty, war, disease, or even death. There will only be an eternity in paradise with our God. That is a beautiful hope, and because it is placed in an unchanging, all powerful God, the Christian hope is infinitely secure.
On Thanksgiving
You can be at peace with a storm raging around you. You can have an unwavering hope in the face of insurmountable odds. What about being thankful? The world will say that we should be thankful when something good happens or when we are happy and feel like it. However, just like with the world’s conceptions of peace and hope, this conception of thanksgiving is flawed as well.
“Good things”, according to the world, come and go. Thus, so will our thanksgiving. We all feel thankful when we get a good grade, a paycheck, or some other reward. How quickly do those things fade? Good grades may get replaced with bad ones. Money may run low. Life happens, and storms will roll in as our thanksgiving dries up. This shouldn’t be so! There is something to be thankful for every time you draw breath — our thanksgiving should endure. Furthermore, what if I don’t feel like giving thanks? How many of you have received a good thing but were too tired or annoyed to be thankful? By basing proper thanksgiving on our volatile emotions, our thanksgiving will be equally fickle.
Are you recognizing a pattern? While the worldly way of giving thanks may fail, the Christian way does not. Again, our thanksgiving is focused on God and what He has done for us. The Christian is and should be able to be thankful all the time. As we are exhorted in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. The Christian is able to do this for a few reasons. First and foremost, we have God’s steadfast and unfailing love. This is evident in one of the most widely known passages in the Bible, John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. God loves us so much that He died for us to pay for our sins. The Christian will always have God’s love, and that alone is reason enough to be thankful. The gratitude that stems from this knowledge goes even deeper when we contrast God’s love with that of the world. In society, we often have to struggle for the affirmation and love of others, and such affections are fickle and apt to run cold at the first sign of trouble. However with God, we have an unconditional and endless supply of love that will never run dry or be removed. How amazing and deserving of thanks is that in contrast?
Moreover, the Christian is always able to be thankful because we realize just how much God has blessed us. No one is promised one more second of life, not another breath or heartbeat. Each of these things and so much more is a gift from God. Big or small, expected or unexpected, God is constantly blessing His own.
Additionally the Christian is able to be thankful because we know that no matter what happens, God is in control and He works all events out for the good of his children. While unfortunate things may happen, we are grateful that they are always for our good. I missed two soccer seasons. While disappointing, it allowed time for my sprained and swollen ankle to heal (I had foolishly been playing on it). While my law school exam changed in format, the intensive studying that the situation demanded allowed me to earn a satisfying score. While I may miss some friends, my pandemic experience has taught me to cherish the ones I still have. Each circumstance can serve as a refining or testing period pushing us to new and better heights. It was my trust in God’s sovereignty that allowed me to engage in such introspection and actively recognize God’s blessings in order to be thankful, even during these times. Without this knowledge, I would be consigned to bitterness and dejection.
While God has taken the negatives in my life and turned them into positives, this is by no means the rule. God may ordain trials and circumstances for us that seem to go on for extended periods of time without relief. In some cases, the relief may never come. I cannot lie and promise you that you will never suffer. Just like Jesus, His children will face trials and hardships. However, the Christian can still be thankful because we know that there is more to our destiny than this life. Our time on Earth may be a negative experience, but it is limited. We have the rest of eternity with our God to revel in His presence and joy. That is the reason for our thanksgiving.
Finally, the Christian can be thankful at all times, even during the bad, because the Christian knows the spiritual benefits of hardship. As the apostle Paul states in Romans 5:3–4 “but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Suffering refines the Christian and draws us closer to God by forcing an increased reliance on Him. As the Christian draws closer to God, our faith is both strengthened and increased, all to the glory of God.
When we are focused on God and filled with peace, hope, and thanksgiving, the world ceases to be depressing and hopeless. Everything may not be alright in the present, but thanks to God, everything will be — if not in this life, then certainly in the next one. Joy naturally results from this outlook. Knowing these current times, these are all things that we could use in abundance.
