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Grace Bible Church, NY
Thanksgiving 2025
Thankful in Every Circumstance
Philippians
PILGRIMS’ PATTERN
England in the 16th & 17th centuries was a place of continuing religious turmoil. It had been divided since Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church and created the Church of England. Depending on who was on the throne, Catholics or Protestants would be oppressed. There were some who were oppressed regardless of who was on the throne. These were the religious dissenters who sought to free themselves from the hierarchy of both Catholicism and Anglicanism and follow the Scriptures alone. Oppression of these separatists could be brutal; confiscation of goods, imprisonment, banishment, cruel torment including rackings and dismemberment of joints, and bloody deaths.
One such group of dissenters, eventually called “pilgrims,” formed a Separatist Church in Scrooby, England under the leadership of Rev. John Robinson and William Brewster. By 1607 conditions in England became such that they decided to flee their country. In William Bradford’s words, “They could not long continue in any peaceable condition, but were hunted and persecuted on every side, so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in comparison of these which now came upon them. For some were taken and clapt up in prison, others had their houses besett and watcht night and day, and hardly escaped their hands: and the most were faine to flie and leave their houses and habitations, and the means of their livelihood.”
An attempt was made in November 1607 to flee the country, but they were betrayed, their goods ransacked by the authorities and several of them put into prison. Another attempt was made in April 1608, but only a few were on the boat and able to flee when their plan was discovered. By August of that year the authorities were “wearied and tired” of them and expelled them. The settled in Amsterdam, Holland and then moved to Leyden, Holland in early 1609 where they established their church.
By 1617 three major concerns were pressing them to move again. First, there was the danger of a Spanish invasion. The Dutch granted them religious freedom, but Catholic Spain would have oppressed them. Their fear was real for the 30 years war began in 1618 and the Spanish did invade parts of Holland during that war. Second, they were concerned that the more liberal Dutch society was having a negative effect on their children. Third, as immigrants, their economic standing had plummeted with many of them earning their living with “great labor and hard fare.” Bradford writes, “often times, so oppressed with their hevie labours, that though their minds were free and willing, yet their bodies bowed under the weight of the same, and became decreped in their early youth; the vigor of nature being consumed in the very budd as it were.”
After several years of trying to find financial backing, they were ready to set sail for America in 1620. They chartered the Speedwell and the Mayflower for the trip. The speculators financing the voyage kept changing their contract resulting in both their having to sell off many of their provisions and delaying them from sailing until August 5. But by August 12 the Speedwell was leaking so bad they had to turn back. The Speedwell was overhauled and they set sail again on August 23, but by August 27 the Speedwell was leaking again so badly that they had to put in a Plymouth Harbor. On September 6 the Mayflower set out alone for America and the expedition was now short of both the provisions and people that Speedwell would have carried. It was later revealed that the Speedwell had been sabotaged by the crew in order to get out of their contract.
The long delays put them into the Atlantic during the Autumn storm season – and they experienced them, but despite the damage to the ship – such as the cracked main beam ingeniously repaired with a printing press, and the foul food and living conditions, they sighted land – Cape Cod – on November 9 with only one person dying in the crossing. Bradford writes, “Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast & furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. And no marvel if they were thus joyful.”
Now they had a new set of problems. They were far north of their intended destination and Winter was already nipping at their heels. They had to either sail south or find a suitable place to carve a home out of the cold and desolate wilderness now in front of them. An attempt to sail south ran into dangerous “shoals and breakers” and so the decision was made to make a home where they were. By early December they were still exploring the area trying to find a suitable place to settle, but a new danger was upon them. Disease was beginning to take its toll and on December 4, Edward Thompson became the first Pilgrim to die in Cape Cod Harbor. A decision of where to settle was not made until December 20. By then 6 more had died, the weather was so bad they could not even get to the shore to begin building. On December 21 Richard Britterige died. On December 22 Mary Allerton delivered a still-born son. On December 24 all the Pilgrims attended prayer services, thanked God for their deliverance and for guiding them to Plymouth.
The Pilgrims endured a harsh Winter, scarce food, sickness and death and in the process built a small settlement in Plymouth. By March and the first signs of Spring Bradford wrote, “the Spring now approaching, it pleased God the mortalitie begane to cease amongst them, and the sick and lame recovered apace, which put as it were new life into them; though they had borne their sadd affliction with much patience & contentednes.” Forty seven out of the 102 that had left England that previous September were now dead. Almost half of the Mayflower’s crew of 50 had also died. In the next few months, several more would die including John Carver, the governor.
The coming summer would have its own challenges as they developed relations with the surrounding Indian tribes and planted and harvested their first crops and made preparation to survive the coming winter.
We often concentrate on the three days of celebration and feasting they held after harvest in the Autumn of 1621 as the proof of their thanksgiving to God for His provision for them. But the real proof is that Sunday and Sunday throughout even the worst of times they gathered to publicly thank God for what He had done and petition Him for His grace and mercy. During the starving time of that winter, daily food rations got down to 7 kernals of Indian corn (maize) per day, and they would not have had that except in God’s providence the found caches of Indian corn left by the tribe that would have been living in that area except they were wiped out by small pox a few years earlier. Would any of us responded to such harsh conditions and loss of life in the same manner as they did? More importantly, how were they able to respond in such a way and is it possible for us to follow their example.
Is it possible for us to be grateful even if all the comforts we have were taken away and we went hungry while being exposed to the harshness of winter without adequate protection, our bodies battered by diseases such as scurvy and pneumonia and our friends and loved ones were dying around us. Can you be grateful when you lose your job, someone steals your stuff, a close relationship ends, your house burns down, your physical health collapses, you are persecuted because of your moral integrity? The Pilgrims had experienced all of these things – and yet remained a thankful in people in all of those circumstances.
I believe that it is possible because we find this example not just in the Pilgrims, but also in the Apostle Paul throughout the book of Philippians.
PAUL’S PROBLEMS
Paul had problems – many of them. Among them were these: He was in jail – Philippians 1:7,13,14. He was scorned with some purposely trying to cause him distress – Philippians1:15-17. He was in danger of death – Philippians 1:20-23; 2:17. His co-worker had left due to illness making his own life more difficult – Philippians 2:27-30. He was concerned for what those who he had worked with were facing, and he could not be there personally to help protect them – Philippians 3:2,18,19. As he examined his life he realized that much of his life had been wasted, he considered it rubbish – Philippians 3:7,8. (Doesn’t that sound like someone ready for a mid-life crises?). In addition Paul had endured times of hunger and suffering – Philippians 4:12, and even now, though his needs were being met, there was the fact that he had been neglected by all but one of the churches he had started and ministered to. That certainly gives the potential for emotional stress.
It would be easy to conclude that Paul had a right to complain, but the fact is that he was not complaining about any of these things. He only mentions them as matters of fact in building the theme of his letter of being able to be joyful no matter what circumstances he might be experiencing. The theme of the book of Philippians is joy in all circumstances. Joy in suffering in chapter 1. Joy in submission in chapter 2. Joy in salvation in chapter 3 and Joy in sanctification in chapter 4.
I think we can learn a lot about how to be joyful as we look at each of these situations and find out how Paul was able to rejoice in spite of what he was going though. Paul’s paradigms can help us to develop the mindset by which we too can be thankful in every circumstance.
PAUL’S PARADIGMS
CONFINEMENT. How can you be thankful when you are confined whether that is the physical confinement of being in jail as was Paul or confined and limited by your physical abilities? Can you be thankful when you are hindered from moving about as you would like?
If you see your present circumstances only through the limited vision of man’s selfish nature, you will descend into complaining about how difficult – unfair – life has been to you. You might even blame God for the problem. “If God loved me more, He would not have allowed these things to happen.” Paul was in jail unfairly. He had been falsely accused by the Jews in Jerusalem more than two years earlier and his case had still not been settled. So many of the Pilgrims could have made the same claim. But they all saw things through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. Their concern was not their own comfort, but what God might be able to do through their uncomfortable circumstances. Look at Philippians 1:12-14 – “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become will known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.” We find two specific causes for Paul’s expression of joyful thanksgiving for being in prison. First, some of the praetorian guard – Caesar’s personal guard – had come to faith in Jesus. In Philippians 4:22 some of these guards – “of Caesar’s household” – join with Paul in sending their greeting to the church in Philippi. Second, many of those who were already Christians became more bold in speaking the Word of God. Paul rejoiced because God was able to use his imprisonment to bring some to Christ and embolden others in the faith.
The principle here is to see how your present circumstances can be used by God to further the gospel.
SCORNED. We are told of an amazing thing in Philippians 1:15,17 for there were people that were actually preaching Christ from a motive of envy, strife and selfish ambition hoping to cause Paul distress. Now if Paul had been petty and jealous he might have become distressed by thinking along the lines of “poor me, here I am stuck in prison and they are out there getting all the glory” or “God, you’re unfair! I am a much better person than those people and here you have me stuck in prison while they are out there proclaiming the Gospel with the wrong motivation.” Have you ever thought like that?
In verse 18 we find Paul saying, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.” Paul’s key to rejoicing in this was twofold. First, seeing that the proclamation of the truth is more important than the motive behind it, and Second, it was God’s business of who and how He wanted the truth proclaimed. Paul’s concern was to exalt Christ. Notice verse 20 where Paul says, “That I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”
DANGER: Paul was also in danger of Death. That is something that could make any of us skiddish, yet Paul was ready to rejoice even if the situation would require his death. As humans our tendency is to want to hold onto our lives at all cost. The saying “Better Red than Dead” was a real motto for some during the years of the Cold War. These were people who valued their physical life more than anything else. If you think your physical life is of supreme value, then you have missed the point of your life. Life does not have value in and of itself. It has value only in relationship to its purpose; what it is used for. A life lived in selfishness is a waste, but a life used in service for a cause greater than itself is a gain, and the greatest cause and greatest gain is a life lived for Christ. Notice Paul’s statement in verse 21 “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Paul had no fear of death for two reasons. First, he knew the purpose of his present life – as expressed in verse 22 of serving Christ. Second, he knew, as he says in verse 23, that to depart this life is to be with Christ which is much better. The key to not only overcoming the fear of death but rejoicing at its prospect is knowing what your life is all about and where you are headed when it is over.
ABANDONMENT: Maybe you can relate with this next circumstance. You have been busy working alongside your colleges, but they quit or are transferred and suddenly you work becomes more difficult because the load is no longer shared the way it was. If your focus is just on how the changed situation affects you, then the result will be grumbling and complaining. But Paul was able to respond differently. Epaphroditus was certainly a valued colleague of Paul’s since in verse 25 Paul calls him a “brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier.” But Epaphroditus became severely sick – even to the point of death (vs 27). He finally recovers and wants to go home (vs 25), so Paul sends him “eagerly” so that they may rejoice. It made Paul’s circumstances a bit harder, but Paul’s focus was not himself, but on others. Paul lived according to what he commanded in Philippians 2:2,3 to “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
The key to rejoicing with thankfulness in this circumstance is seeing that the benefit to others is more important than benefit to yourself.
FEAR: Another situation that can rob us of gratitude is fear. In this case fear caused by the reality that you can do little to protect those who are important to you. Parents can understand this very well when you send your children off to camp or school or wherever, then you hear a report that something dangerous is occurring where they are. At that point, whatever joy you had about them being there vanishes. Paul had that concern for his spiritual children who were facing “dogs,” “evil workers,” “enemies of the cross of Christ,” and he could not go to them. We find Paul reacting with warnings to his spiritual children in Philippians 3:1,2, 18,19 about these dangers and how to live – with no confidence in the flesh (3), following his example of godliness (16,17), remembering they are citizens of heaven (20) – yet Paul begins the whole chapter with the admonition to “rejoice in the Lord.” Paul uses the danger to repeat his warnings and encourage them to keep their focus correct, but his ability to rejoice was based in his trust in the Lord to protect and bring them to the goal of conformity to Christ (vs 14,21).
WASTED TIME: How do you react when you carefully examine your life and realize how much time you have wasted in vain pursuits? What is often referred to as mid-life crisis is the result of people doing that. Some people react in depression thinking themselves to be a failure currently – which may be true – and that they never will do anything else but fail – which does not have to be true. Others react by trying to relive their childhood and thus proving they are not “over the hill” yet. We tend to smile at such foolishness. But the best reaction is that of Paul as he looked back on his life and realized that all his piety and zeal as a Pharisee was rubbish (vs 7,8). It was all a waste. But Paul did not get depressed over this nor did he go around and act like an adolescent. Instead Paul focused his attention on what lay ahead and the “surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus” as Lord (vs 8) which is far better than anything of this earth (vs. 3:7,8, 20-21). Life cannot be lived in the past. It is lived in the present with an eye to the future. Paul’s goal for the future was eternity with Christ. Everyone with that goal can rejoice in the present regardless of what their past was like. Gaining Christ is worth everything and the goal of it brings great rejoicing regardless of a wasted past. Does that describe you, or are you still trapped in your past?
HUNGER & SUFFERING: Maslow’s pyramid states that man’s base needs for food, shelter and safety must be fulfilled before higher needs such as love and spiritual actualization can be met. If that were true, then those who are hungry and suffering could not be content and they could not rejoice. They would be miserable people. Strange then that surveys consistently show that poor people are often happier than rich ones. Americans have one of the highest standards of living in the world, yet also tend to be one of the most discontent people in the world. Contentment is not based on material possessions but on the well being that comes when you know where you fit in the universe.
Verse 11 tells us that Paul learned to be content in any circumstance – humble or prosperous, filled or hungry, having abundance or suffering need because he knew what was important in his life, and it was not gaining material wealth. It was doing all things to please the Lord. That is why Paul could be content in every situation. Regardless of circumstances Paul learned that through the power of the Holy Spirit he could do what was right before the Lord. He was at peace because he had brought everything to the Lord (4:6), and his mind was trained to think on what was true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise (4:8). Paul trusted the Lord to supply his needs (4:19) and so he was content in all circumstances. Are you?
NEGLECTED: Our joy can also be robbed very quickly when we believe we are not appreciated. As humans we want affirmation. We want people to think good of us and value us. We want to be remembered. When those things do not happen, it is easy to fall to the temptation to get angry and upset or depressed.
Paul could have reacted that way if he lived for self gratification, for after planting many churches and ministering in many others we find in 4:15 that only the Philippians had made a tangible contribution to his support. That could easily cause a person to think they had wasted their time with those ungrateful people. But we do not see Paul respond that way. While grateful that their gift is meeting the needs he has, his greater source of rejoicing was over the spiritual maturity in them that their gift demonstrates (vs 17,18). Paul’s desire was not the gift or the affirmation from the gift, but to see the demonstration of their spiritual maturity in wanting to share with him.
The key here again is keeping your focus off of yourself and what you think you deserve and keeping it on the Lord and working toward goals of eternal value. It is not appreciation we are to seek after, but spiritual maturity in those we work with. God will supply our needs, and all praise belongs to Him regardless of how He does so.
Can we be thankful in every circumstance including the difficult ones? Yes, but only if we follow the pattern set of us in both Paul and the Pilgrims and remember our life here on earth is not our own, but belongs to the Lord. His promise is to supply our needs as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. As we follow after Him, we can be confident that regardless of what enters our lives, the Lord can use it for His eternal purposes, and for that there is always great cause for rejoicing and being thankful.
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