What is the point of thanking God?

[Soothfish]

So Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner here in the US.

I still refuse to thank God for anything. I don't have much family and what little I have can be lost at any moment to any of the myriad random chaotic forces in the universe. Prayers go unanswered no matter how noble they may be. In the rare event that they do go answered it is a such a minor thing that it can easily be contributed to dumb luck (which is fleeting).

Ruin, misery, insanity, and stupidity dominates the world. The only way to get through the day is to isolate oneself from it all....and that is rarely possible. Nothing can possibly be done to make things better for anyone. I have found that all the goodwill and charity in the world is worthless and usually doesn't even have a temporary positive impact on the recipient.

God has not been a part of our lives since the cross. His absence is so glaring that I can't step foot in a church anymore without get depressed by the total lack of evidence of his personal presence. In a best case scenario, life is the horror movie "Saw" and God is a variant of the Puppet Master who gives you gifts after the massacre is over.

I do not have anything in my life to live for. If someday I do have something worth living and dying for, I'll most likely live only to witness its horrific destruction. The cycle will be unending and there is no escape.

Evil always wins.

Love always fails.

No thanksgiving...

 

[dhh712]

So Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner here in the US.

I still refuse to thank God for anything. I don't have much family and what little I have can be lost at any moment to any of the myriad random chaotic forces in the universe. Prayers go unanswered no matter how noble they may be. In the rare event that they do go answered it is a such a minor thing that it can easily be contributed to dumb luck (which is fleeting).

Ruin, misery, insanity, and stupidity dominates the world. The only way to get through the day is to isolate oneself from it all....and that is rarely possible. Nothing can possibly be done to make things better for anyone. I have found that all the goodwill and charity in the world is worthless and usually doesn't even have a temporary positive impact on the recipient.

God has not been a part of our lives since the cross. His absence is so glaring that I can't step foot in a church anymore without get depressed by the total lack of evidence of his personal presence. In a best case scenario, life is the horror movie "Saw" and God is a variant of the Puppet Master who gives you gifts after the massacre is over.

I do not have anything in my life to live for. If someday I do have something worth living and dying for, I'll most likely live only to witness its horrific destruction. The cycle will be unending and there is no escape.

Evil always wins.

Love always fails.

No thanksgiving...

I'm sorry. I hope you will not be angry with me for what I have to say. I agree with you that God's presence in this world in this day and age especially is very dim. It seems to me we are living during a time of great spiritual depression.

I don't know what words of encouragement to give you, yet it doesn't seem to me you are asking for any so I will refrain from it.

You asked however, what is the point of thanking God? From my perspective, the point of thanking God is for how much worse it can be compared to what actually is. At least from my perspective, I feel that things can get so much more worse than they actually are. Doubtless, much of that has to do with His Providence in providing for me the type of life which I do have. Others are likely not as fortunate, yet perhaps some thankfulness can be found in the ability to have use of our limbs, to see, to breath (as in not to be submitted to the feeling of being drowned constantly or having a lack of air yet not being permitted to die). If someone is of those fortunate to have access to indoor plumbing: that alone would provide a reason for much thankfulness to the Lord

I would also suggest a thankfulness to God for, if such is the case, His condescension in establishing a relationship with oneself--His great mercy in giving onto one, entirely unworthy, the ability to perceive His spiritual attributes of love, mercy, and compassion.

There is so much more than what I have suggested. I must say though and hope it will not offend, that it can be that much physical, worldly sorrow comes when God awakens a person to spiritual life who was once spiritually dead. Whereas before the world was once a rather pleasing place with many delights (perhaps), one can clearly see now how entirely sin has corrupted every facet of life; it can cause great anguish and I feel it especially so if God has given, in His conversion of the sinner, much neediness for spiritual purity. The necessity of having to remain in this world, still bound to our physical bodies which crave sin, can be especially devastating at times and may cause times of great depression.

 

[bling]

Excellent observation.

It is truly tragic that I personally need tons of opportunities to: see, experience, show, receive and grow Godly type Love.

Christians can have a “joy” (peace/objective in this life/a quest/fellowship with God) in sacrificially serving others in this life. It is a privilege and honor to allow God to work through you.

This world is not our home, so it is arranged to best provide the needed opportunities for those willing to accept these opportunities and thus fulfill their earthly objective.

 

[Willie T]

So Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner here in the US.

I still refuse to thank God for anything. I don't have much family and what little I have can be lost at any moment to any of the myriad random chaotic forces in the universe. Prayers go unanswered no matter how noble they may be. In the rare event that they do go answered it is a such a minor thing that it can easily be contributed to dumb luck (which is fleeting).

Ruin, misery, insanity, and stupidity dominates the world. The only way to get through the day is to isolate oneself from it all....and that is rarely possible. Nothing can possibly be done to make things better for anyone. I have found that all the goodwill and charity in the world is worthless and usually doesn't even have a temporary positive impact on the recipient.

God has not been a part of our lives since the cross. His absence is so glaring that I can't step foot in a church anymore without get depressed by the total lack of evidence of his personal presence. In a best case scenario, life is the horror movie "Saw" and God is a variant of the Puppet Master who gives you gifts after the massacre is over.

I do not have anything in my life to live for. If someday I do have something worth living and dying for, I'll most likely live only to witness its horrific destruction. The cycle will be unending and there is no escape.

Evil always wins.

Love always fails.

No thanksgiving...

I mean no disrespect.... but then why do you waste the little time you have, posting here? Seems a little silly.

 

[~Anastasia~]

My life has not been a bed of roses, and I've suffered losses and heartache myself.

I am very sorry you feel the way you do and things are so bleak for you.

But only to answer the question of what is the point of thanking God ... I don't think God is someone sitting up there who needs our thanks for what He does in order to feel better about himself. In my experience, it plays out more that I benefit from thanking God. Sometimes it sounds pathetic to be thankful for meager things when you feel the loss of important ones, but if you do it with honest gratitude for what you have received, it changes the way you think. It helps you see what God HAS done, and begins to assure you of what he can do, and eventually of what he will do for you. And when He does it, again and again, you develop more trust and faith.

I think this only works for believers, really. It's not a "magic incantation" for nonbelievers to try out and expect to be receive things from God as a result. There are no promises like that. But He has brought me through some really difficult times, and I've learned in those to fall back on thanksgiving as a way to open doors and carry myself through them, time and again.

I hope that helps in some way.

 

[FaithInTruth]

I mean no disrespect.... but then why do you waste the little time you have, posting here? Seems a little silly.

No disrespect... But why not have a little compassion? Instead of writing that critical condescending question, why not an encouraging word, or just a prayer? This person was not complaining about wasting time either, did you read what they wrote? And then to say what they did seems silly? Who are you to judge? Maybe God put it in their heart to write this so we can pray for them and the love of God can fill their life.

Do you know what Jesus said?...

"On the day of judgment people will have to give an account for every careless word they speak." (Matthew 12:36)

"Anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the hell of fire." (Matthew 5:22)

"By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew (12:37)

Why kick a person when they are down?

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Luke 6:31)

"Love one another." (John 13:34)

This is a Christian forum.

 

[FaithInTruth]

So Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner here in the US.

I still refuse to thank God for anything. I don't have much family and what little I have can be lost at any moment to any of the myriad random chaotic forces in the universe. Prayers go unanswered no matter how noble they may be. In the rare event that they do go answered it is a such a minor thing that it can easily be contributed to dumb luck (which is fleeting).

Ruin, misery, insanity, and stupidity dominates the world. The only way to get through the day is to isolate oneself from it all....and that is rarely possible. Nothing can possibly be done to make things better for anyone. I have found that all the goodwill and charity in the world is worthless and usually doesn't even have a temporary positive impact on the recipient.

God has not been a part of our lives since the cross. His absence is so glaring that I can't step foot in a church anymore without get depressed by the total lack of evidence of his personal presence. In a best case scenario, life is the horror movie "Saw" and God is a variant of the Puppet Master who gives you gifts after the massacre is over.

I do not have anything in my life to live for. If someday I do have something worth living and dying for, I'll most likely live only to witness its horrific destruction. The cycle will be unending and there is no escape.

Evil always wins.

Love always fails.

No thanksgiving...

Hi beautiful. I just want to say that I know how you feel. But I am sure that I do not know more than God knows.
Jesus, who is God in the flesh, came to earth as servant. To serve this evil and adulterous generation. He died for the very people that killed him. They spit in His face, whipped Him, cursed Him, mocked Him, beat Him, scoffed at Him, insulted Him, laughed at Him, called Him crazy, said He was out of His mind. His own family didn't believe in Him. His best friends and followers betrayed Him, then when He was ready to, when the prophesy came time to be fulfilled, He died for those very people that hated and rejected Him, though He did nothing wrong, and He suffered the very punishment that those people (including us) should have received for all the evil we did.

And it doesn't seem like it now, because this world is still so full of evil, but Jesus, God, broke the power of sin and evil in the earth when He died on the cross. Why then is it still prevalent today, you ask? For one thing, people don't really believe in Jesus so they have no freedom from sin. And mostly too, even if they do believe, most people just like to continue doing the evil things they want to do. And God gives them over to their debased mind to do what ought not to be done. People have free will. And like another person mentioned, it would be a lot worse, He is restraining it through our prayers and His Word.

Jesus suffered worse than all of us combined and all of us individually. God Himself did this, for us, so we would know how much He loves us, even though we turned our backs on Him.

"The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Genesis 6:5-7

 

[TheJust]

Evil always wins.

Love always fails.

On the contrary...

If this is how you see things then you have yet to experience love, it is impervious.

 

[talitha]

First of all I see so much pain in your post - I want you to know that I know that - I acknowledge your pain, and what I am saying is not meant to detract from that. It's hard to be vulnerable, even in an anonymous forum, and your heart is valuable.

This statement really concerns me:

I still refuse to thank God for anything.

... and this is why:

...the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.... ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.... [and] they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.

This is what happens when we are not thankful to God.

One thing that I don't think many people realize when they sign on to be Christians is that as Christians, we acknowledge that God is always right, and when we don't agree with Him, we are wrong and need to humbly ask Him to help us change.

Last night my husband's friend didn't show up when he said he would come over, for the hundredth time. In fact, my husband keeps finding that people disappoint him. He gets his hopes up, and them BAM. When things happen to us again and again, it's hurtful, and it doesn't seem fair. But what's really going on is that there is some pattern that is keeping the cycle going, whatever the pattern is, or there may even be a curse on our lives. We have to recognize that WE are broken before the cycle can be broken.

In like manner, if your prayers continually go unanswered, then there is something in you that is perpetuating this cycle, because it's certainly not God's fault. We can't get around the fact that God is good, good, good, and he loves us unimaginably.

And I feel really sad that you have not experienced God's presence - from what you wrote, you don't experience it alone or in church. I could be really insensitive and say "Well, you're not going to the right church." That could be true, but it's not the problem. The problem, I suspect, is that you have cut yourself off from God.

I've been there. I didn't even know that I was doing it when I did it. Something bad happened to me, and I decided that I didn't want to feel anything - so I didn't - for years - no matter what I tried. I was like you; I didn't see any point to life. Then a friend gave me a tape that was a teaching about a "slumbering spirit". Oh my goodness. That was totally my problem, and I think it's a large part of yours. I had put my spirit to sleep, and I had also closed off my conscience to the point that it didn't bother me to live in promiscuity while attending church once or twice a week. I decided I wanted God to wake me up, and I prayed and prayed and prayed for it to happen.

When it happened, I could suddenly feel his presence ALL THE TIME. Other things happened too, things that showed me that I had been sleeping for longer than I had thought.

The point here is that God is very much a part of our lives, but we can decide whether or not to be part of HIS life. In fact, it's completely our decision.

bless you
tal

 

[Sedoy]

So Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner here in the US.

I still refuse to thank God for anything. I don't have much family and what little I have can be lost at any moment to any of the myriad random chaotic forces in the universe. Prayers go unanswered no matter how noble they may be. In the rare event that they do go answered it is a such a minor thing that it can easily be contributed to dumb luck (which is fleeting).

Ruin, misery, insanity, and stupidity dominates the world. The only way to get through the day is to isolate oneself from it all....and that is rarely possible. Nothing can possibly be done to make things better for anyone. I have found that all the goodwill and charity in the world is worthless and usually doesn't even have a temporary positive impact on the recipient.

God has not been a part of our lives since the cross. His absence is so glaring that I can't step foot in a church anymore without get depressed by the total lack of evidence of his personal presence. In a best case scenario, life is the horror movie "Saw" and God is a variant of the Puppet Master who gives you gifts after the massacre is over.

I do not have anything in my life to live for. If someday I do have something worth living and dying for, I'll most likely live only to witness its horrific destruction. The cycle will be unending and there is no escape.

Evil always wins.

Love always fails.

No thanksgiving...

Prayers should be humble not noble. Ask God what He wants you to be what He wants you to have, to know, to see. You will never find satisfaction and purpose in things that you want not in purpose you are created for. You may ask for most noble of things but God knows better then you what you need since He is the one who created you and you are just asking for wrong thing.

Everything in this world is there to create character in you. Everything that happens to you, everything that does not happen is there to create your character to be, some day used for purpose for which you were created. You, who you are is not a sum of your circumstances but of your responses to them. You can either overcome them learn from them or you can give up, break down and wallow in self-pity. This world and everything in it is just one giant character training ground.

Death is not an end, it is only the beginning. The beginning of forever. Not forever in which you are sitting on the cloud, bored out of your mind, playing on the harp. Forever in which you have responsibility, job for which you are to have character perfectly fitting when you get there. Responsibility that is perfectly satisfying while fulfilling it because that is the responsibility you were created for.

God is part of your life if you let Him. His presence should be in you in your life not in some building somewhere where you go looking for it.

You do not have anything in your life to live for? You can start living for God then, it is so satisfactory that you will have a lot to be thankful for.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

It sounds like you have a lot of stress in your life. A lot of things to worry about. My life was like your some years ago. I had a lot of strain in my life and it was so bad that I tried to commit suicide. My major problem was relationships, I could never find a girl friend, or have any relationship that lasted. However one day God spoke to me and told me a person who I could marry. It turned out this person liked me. We went out dating and eventually got married. Our marriage has been very good for me. I am now very blessed. I have a great job as a Website Designer, I am paying off a home, we live in a good suburb. I have a family and a son. I have a lot to be thankful for. I have always tried to thank God, even when problems were in my life. Now I actually have something to thank him for.

 

[parsley]

Courtesy.

We live on a planet that has stayed seasonably warm in the middle of cold space. We have not been melted by hot lava.

We were not raised by wolves or militant militia.

Most of us were not born severely deformed by the effects of GMO's, radiation, lead poisoning, scrambled genes, plague, or the many other toxic factors that are present in our environments.

We are prosperous enough to be typing on a computer with internet access.

Why not thank God? We did not control any of those things ourselves.

 

[parsley]

His absence is so glaring that I can't step foot in a church anymore without get depressed by the total lack of evidence of his personal presence... I have found that all the goodwill and charity in the world is worthless and usually doesn't even have a temporary positive impact on the recipient.

These are separate topics and do not need to be lumped into one big defeatist generalization.

Read Ecclesiastes -- Solomon concluded some of the same things. We strive with zeal and optimism for many years, and then step back and realize our striving was not necessarily for meaningful gain.

That's okay. It's not comfortable and it throws off motivation horribly, but it is not a reason to give up on all of life and faith. We are just allowed to see a different perspective.

Look at how people aspire to have great jobs and career success. They work overtime to show dedication and continually step outside their comfort zones to serve the companies. Then they find out their companies were contributing to cancer clusters, or river pollution, or manipulation of food supplies, or offensive political movements, or organized crime.

Did the employees gain the whole world but lose their souls? Did they know what they were contributing to?

When you walk into a church and see nothing but human greed or falsehood, then move on. Keep seeking what is pure and good. Truth is often found in quiet places.

If people were not able to own God, then maybe He has chosen to leave the places His name was not kept untainted.

 

[Soothfish]

I mean no disrespect.... but then why do you waste the little time you have, posting here? Seems a little silly.

our time and efforts are just as futile.

 

[Soothfish]

Courtesy.

We live on a planet that has stayed seasonably warm in the middle of cold space. We have not been melted by hot lava.

Mercury is a peaceful planet

We were not raised by wolves or militant militia.

Most of us were not born severely deformed by the effects of GMO's, radiation, lead poisoning, scrambled genes, plague, or the many other toxic factors that are present in our environments.

We are prosperous enough to be typing on a computer with internet access.

Why not thank God? We did not control any of those things ourselves.

but most of the world is experiencing these things and I'm too weak to do anything about it. Therefore, I thank God for nothing.

 

[FaithInTruth]

but most of the world is experiencing these things and I'm too weak to do anything about it. Therefore, I thank God for nothing.

Have you ever read the bible? I mean on your own by yourself? (I ask it that way because some people count Sunday school and church service as reading it so they answer yes even when it is no. Or they say yes because they read a verse or two or three in their lifetime.)

Have you read one of the books written about what Jesus did on earth in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John?

I just want to know. If you don't want to answer me and you haven't, maybe try reading the book of John. Chapter 9 is my favorite and so is Chapter 15. It always helps me. I like the whole book though. You can read it online if you don't have a bible. Biblegateway is a good source to read it from for free. They have audio bibles too if you'd rather listen.

 

[parsley]

Mercury is a peaceful planet

There ya go. We can be grateful the Mercurians have not declared war on our planet Earth.

but most of the world is experiencing these things and I'm too weak to do anything about it. Therefore, I thank God for nothing.

If each person took initiative to stop it, would most of this suffering be prevented? Possibly.
Yet we resist the laws that God delivered to Moses that would allow us to "live long in the land."

There were instructions on containing fungus and mold in homes, which many people suffer from today.

There were instructions on quarantine for communicable skin diseases, but our society deemed that offensive. And yes, it is rude to isolate people... but the other option is to spread the suffering to more people.

I am not saying that all the ancient laws are pertinent today, but that God did provide a way for us to manage suffering and abuse in this world.

And then adding to those guidelines, Jesus taught us how to heal each other, stand up to religious injustices, and set others free from spiritual oppression.

So what we need to look at is God's methodology. He chooses to involve us in the solutions.

So if we take a stance of "God is over all and He will take care of things," then we lose sight of His nature. He wants interaction with people, He wants us to feel capable and involved, He wants us to take on challenges and solve problems with our creative minds.

When I was an adolescent and teen, my parents would ask each child to plan and cook dinner occasionally. They took the risk of it turning out horrible, because they wanted us to feel comfortable in the kitchen. I see God as wanting to train us in that same self-trained way.

When we take initiative, we feel more involved in what He is doing on this earth. And when everyone joins in that networked effort, we really can remove some of the suffering.

 

[Soothfish]

If each person took initiative to stop it, would most of this suffering be prevented? Possibly.
Yet we resist the laws that God delivered to Moses that would allow us to "live long in the land."

There were instructions on containing fungus and mold in homes, which many people suffer from today.

There were instructions on quarantine for communicable skin diseases, but our society deemed that offensive. And yes, it is rude to isolate people... but the other option is to spread the suffering to more people.

I am not saying that all the ancient laws are pertinent today, but that God did provide a way for us to manage suffering and abuse in this world.

The majority of people at the bottom have the intellectual capacity of a salamander. Pretty much everyone at the top of society is a genocidal maniac.

And then adding to those guidelines, Jesus taught us how to heal each other, stand up to religious injustices, and set others free from spiritual oppression.

I'm ready to invade North Korea and the Persian Gulf (again) whenever. However, our 'leaders' and general public also sympathize with mass murder and oppression. Anyone who thinks that peaceful protest qualifies as standing up to injustice is a FOOL. Evil individuals ignore peaceful protests and only ever respond to force.

So what we need to look at is God's methodology. He chooses to involve us in the solutions.

He chooses to give all power to violent maniacs and other insane people? If you try to do good in this world you will ALWAYS find that you are doing it with both of your hands tied behind your back.

So if we take a stance of "God is over all and He will take care of things," then we lose sight of His nature. He wants interaction with people, He wants us to feel capable and involved, He wants us to take on challenges and solve problems with our creative minds.

If people had creative minds there wouldn't be so much misery and destruction. People have destructive, violent, and dim-witted minds.

I still don't see why you are saying that God wants interaction with us. He seems to be "interacting" the same way we do when we sit on a couch watching a horror movie.

When I was an adolescent and teen, my parents would ask each child to plan and cook dinner occasionally. They took the risk of it turning out horrible, because they wanted us to feel comfortable in the kitchen. I see God as wanting to train us in that same self-trained way.

When we take initiative, we feel more involved in what He is doing on this earth. And when everyone joins in that networked effort, we really can remove some of the suffering.

I wouldn't compare the torture, starvation, rape, murder, and spiritual corruption of children to a cooking lesson. It seems to be more like God is either physically absent or intent on merely watching it all unfold.

 

[Soothfish]

Have you ever read the bible? I mean on your own by yourself? (I ask it that way because some people count Sunday school and church service as reading it so they answer yes even when it is no. Or they say yes because they read a verse or two or three in their lifetime.)

Have you read one of the books written about what Jesus did on earth in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John?

I just want to know. If you don't want to answer me and you haven't, maybe try reading the book of John. Chapter 9 is my favorite and so is Chapter 15. It always helps me. I like the whole book though. You can read it online if you don't have a bible. Biblegateway is a good source to read it from for free. They have audio bibles too if you'd rather listen.

Yes I read the Bible and did not find it satisfying. I can understand the Christian position at the intellectual level and have no problem with it.

However, the reality that we are sitting in right now is staggeringly bleak. I'm starting to understand why the prophets never wasted their time physically helping people or stopping human atrocities. It simply cant be done. Life is a horrific curse.

I may change my tune once life is over but right now I have nothing but a bottomless pit of frustration.

 

[andy b]

[

Ruin, misery, insanity, and stupidity dominates the world. omething worth living and dying for, I'll most likely live only to witness its horrific destruction. The cycle will be unending and there is no escape.

Evil always wins.

Love always fails.

No thanksgiving...[/quote]

Then why not do something about it .we are all going to die so why not take your first steps to heaven now and try to change the things which horrify you so much .The problems on this realm where caused by man and can be cured by man or are you one of them who is going to leave the struggle for love peace and happiness to the women and children.