Giving Thanks in All Circumstances…
The apostle Paul in his final admonitions to the members of the church in Thessolanica penned these words found in 1st Thessalonians 5: 16-18: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, our conversation usually turns to things we appreciate and are thankful for. Rarely do I ever hear people give thanks for things that cause distress or pain. Our general inclination is to be thankful for things that make us happy. It seems odd, then, that Paul would instruct the Thessalonians to give thanks in all circumstances. I don’t know about you, but all my circumstances aren’t good. If you read the sequence of verses as one complete thought and not as three unrelated admonitions, you’ll notice how tied together they are. Paul first instructs to rejoice always. How is that possible? We’re constantly bombarded by issues and circumstances that hardly bring joy to our lives. Paul's next statement helps us to understand how being joyful and then being thankful in all circumstances is really possible. Joyfulness and thankfulness in all circumstances can only be realized through a connection with God. Paul describes that connection by writing that we should "pray continually". He is not only referring to the formal prayer we're all familiar with. To pray continually means that we are connecting to God on a consistant basis. Those who “pray continually” recognize God’s consistent presence leading and guiding through all of their circumstances.
In this edition of the Campus Connector we share the story of the PossAbilities program and it’s new title sponsor, Quest Diagnostics. We are very excited that Quest has decided to partner with LLUH in this important community outreach program. Quest is an international company that allows us a much wider platform to share the wonderful work that we’re doing in the community. The other part of this story is that earlier this year we weren’t sure if the program would have a corporate sponsor, at all. God gave us an amazing opportunity to go from a place of comfort embodied in our relationship with San Manuel Band of Mission Indians who have supported PossAbilities financially for many years to uncharted territory where we weren’t sure we would have a sponsor. God blessed us amazingly with this opportunity with Quest. But, He was also blessing when we didn’t know if we had a sponsor for 2015-2017. In another of the Apostle Paul’s letters, he writes, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. I believe that Loma Linda University Health has been “called according to his purpose”. As a result, despite sometimes challenging circumstances, we can be joyful and thankful because our connection with God guarantees that things will work out for our good. In this Thanksgiving season, I pray that your connection with God grows stronger so that you can experience joy and thankfulness regardless of your circumstances.
God Bless,
Lyndon Edwards
Vice President & Administrator
Loma Linda University Medical Center, East Campus
Loma Linda University Heart & Surgical Hospital