It is difficult to “give thanks always”. Indeed, we don’t need to give thanks “for” everything. But we should learn to be thankful “in” all circumstances. It is ironical to be thankful “for” everything. If we do that we are assuming the bad incidents such as accidents and sicknesses as good things. However, in whatever circumstance, we can attempt to draw out something positive. If there is something positive, then we are able to be thankful “for” what is positive “in” the negative circumstance.
My wife and me attended a talk by Joni Eareckson Tada in Chicago last year. She had an accident when she was a teenager and became quadriplegic, and she is paralysed from her shoulders downward. The initial years following the accident, she was depressed. Nevertheless, she has learnt to draw strength from her faith. And she is now a great friend of those who are disabled. She is an inspiration to many. She lives and leads others despite her weakness. She is not only able to cope with her quadriplegic body, but also to trust God to serve others. This is an encouragement to the disabled, and a reminder to the so-called physically healthy to be thankful and make good use of our life.
Therefore, let us learn to “give thanks always”, and to attempt to draw out something positive whenever being confronted by failure and negative situation. And we can learn from an illustration about falling to the ground. When we fall, we can choose to complain and refuse to get up. Alternatively, we can try to pick up something from the ground that we don’t usually see while walking normally. When we lift up our heads, we can see a vast sky, and there is the invisible Creator who is always gracious to provide us with opportunity and provision, which we may fail to notice in the smooth days.
要”常常感谢”並不容易，而事实上我们並不需要”为”每件事感谢，却要学习”在”所有情况下感恩。假如我们”为” 面对的每件事情感谢，我们会讽刺地把意外和疾病等负面事件视为好事。其实”在” 任何情况下，我们都可以尝试看看积极的一面，如果有积极的东西，那么我们就能够”在”负面的情况中”为”那積極的东西而感谢。
去年，妻子和我一起聆听珍妮厄尔克森多田 (Joni Eareckson Tada) 在芝加哥的一堂演讲。她青年时期因为意外而变成四肢瘫痪，並由肩膀往下瘫痪了。意外发生后的最初期，她很沮丧；然而後来她学会了从她的信仰中汲取力量。现在她是残疾人的好朋友，也成了许多人的鼓励。她虽然身体有软弱，却仍然生活及發挥好的影响；她不仅能够面对四肢瘫痪的身体，而且靠着上帝在身体软弱中服务其他的人。她成了残疾人的鼓励，也是身体健康者的提醒，促使他们要感恩并善用人生。
所以，让我们学习永远感谢，并且要在面对失败和消极情况时，试图帶出积极的东西。我们可以从跌倒在地面的情境中学习；即是当我们跌倒时，我们可以选择抱怨并拒绝爬起来，然而我们也可以选择要从地面拾取一些我们在正常行走时看不到的东西；又当我们抬起头来，我们可以看到一片广阔的天空，有一位看不见的造物主总是乐意为我们提供机会和支援，而通常我们在顺利的日子里会容易失去这种眼光。
A leadership talk by Joni through video in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.
一个在马来西亚沙巴山打根透过影带由珍妮主讲的领导讲座。