I can’t remember who explained it to me, but I know it to be true: The opposite of love is not hatred. There’s too much emotion involved in hate. This is why couples can go from very emotional love to having great contempt. The opposite of love isn’t hate; the opposite of love is apathy.
And there’s a similar relationship between anguish and thanksgiving. It’s easy to think of them as opposites – since in anguish we’re suffering and we’re crying out to God. We’re asking for help. Or we’re lamenting our agony. We may be asking, “Why is this happening?” We may feel like God and life are against us. With thanksgiving it can seem like the opposite. We’re thankful, grateful, and expressive of our gratitude. God and life seem to be on our side. Sometimes we’re relieved because of what we’ve been through. Other times we’re pouring out our hearts with thankful prayers and expressions to others, and/or we’re just going about life with a spirit of gratefulness. This is the opposite of anguish, right? Not necessarily. I thought of this while I was studying Psalm 6:1-10. There the psalmist prayerfully contemplates his anguish. He feels like he’s under God’s wrath (6:1). He repeatedly asks for deliverance from his suffering (6:2-4). He yearns to be saved from death so that he can spend more time on this side of eternity praising God (6:5). He talks about crying himself into physical exhaustion (6:6-7) – and in doing so he illustrates the relationship between physical health and spiritual health. Often depression accompanies health problems. But then, suddenly, the psalmist shifts his tone. He repeatedly says that he knows God has heard his prayers (6:8-9). The language follows his previous petitions. He had spoken of his terror and had asked God to turn to him (in 6:2-4), but now he envisions all his enemies turning away from him in retreat, in terror and disgrace (6:10). This naturally begs the question: What caused this shift from anguish to thanksgiving? Was there a change in his circumstances? Probably not. Our circumstances aren’t as important as the attitude that we face them with. Our faith is in Jesus Christ, with the knowledge of His death and resurrection. These are the lenses we put on as we look over our circumstances. This can help us to face our anguish, and to come away with a spirit of thanksgiving. The gospel message is that God is a God of great love. The Hebrew word used to describe it is “chesed” (in 6:4b). It’s one of those words with no single English equivalent, so it’s variously translated as love, mercy, steadfast love, unfailing love, or loyalty. The most famous rendering of it is in Psalm 23:6, which says, “Surely goodness and chesed will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is the anchor on which we all lean – and it’s true in all of life’s situations, whether they’re good or bad. And just like the 23rd Psalm tells us, it’s a love that is eternal. So this can help us to understand Psalm 6:5, which says, “No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?” This is a yearning to praise God on this side of eternity, which is a good thing. Paul had a similar thing in mind when he wrote in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” So we look forward to our eternal home – to the house that has many mansions that Jesus goes to prepare for us (cf. John 14:2-3). But as long as we’re alive and breathing there is praise to give and there are reasons for us to be alive to God’s purposes. This is something to be thankful for – regardless of what kind of anguish we have to go through. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry
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Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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