Thankful – When “Our Hearts Lie Panting on the Floor” … (November 2023 Update)
One of my favorite songs is from the soundtrack from “Fiddler on the Roof” (which is actually based on stories Called “Tevye the Milkman” by a Jewish Ukrainian author, Sholem Aleichem). I love all the songs but especially “To Life” (L’Chaim). One verse sums up the biblical attitude toward thankfulness: “God would like us to be joyful even though our hearts lie panting on the floor; How much more can we be joyful, when there’s really something to be joyful for.”
As believers, we have so much to be thankful for – even when things are not going well. In his book, The Godly Man’s Picture Drawn with a Scripture Pencil, Thomas Watson says, “Praise and thanksgiving is the work of heaven and he [the godly man] begins that work here which he will always be doing in heaven. The Jews have a saying – the world subsists by three things: the law, the worship of God and thankfulness. As if where thankfulness was missing, one of the pillars of the world had been taken away and it was ready to fall.” The psalmist says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Psalm 107:2) and “it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord” (Psalm 92:1). As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in America, it is good for us to think biblically about our thankfulness. Here are some thoughts from Thomas Watson about godliness and thankfulness.
First, Watson reminds us that Praise and Thanksgiving are marks of believers. “We find in Scripture that the godly are still called upon to praise God: “ye that fear the Lord, bless the Lord” (Psa. 135:20). “Let the saints be joyful in glory: let the high praises of God be in their mouth” (Psa. 149:5,6). Praise is a work proper to a saint.” Having hearts of thanksgiving should be distinguishing marks of believers.
Watson notes: “Four sacrifices God is very pleased with: the sacrifice of Christ’s blood; the sacrifice of a broken heart; the sacrifice of alms; and the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Praise and thanksgiving (says Mr. Greenham) is the most excellent part of God’s worship, for this shall continue in the heavenly choir when all other exercises of religion have ceased.” Thanksgiving is not only the mark of believers here on earth; it will be the mark of believers for all eternity.
Second, Watson tells us that “a godly man expresses thankfulness” in every condition. “He will be thankful in adversity as well as prosperity: ‘In everything give thanks’ (1 Thess. 5:18). A gracious soul is thankful and rejoices that he is drawn nearer to God, even though it be by the cords of affliction. When it goes well with him, he praises God’s mercy; when it goes badly with him, he magnifies God’s justice. When God has a rod in his band, a godly man will have a psalm in his mouth. The devil’s smiting of Job was like striking a musical instrument; he sounded forth praise: ‘The Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’” (Job 1:21).
It is easy to be thankful when things are going well, but the testimony of a believer is that he trusts God and gives Him praise even when things are not going well. We do this because we not only remember how many great blessings and mercies God has already given us, but also because we have learned to trust God’s wisdom in all that He allows in our lives. The godly man learns to express thanksgiving in every circumstance!
Third, we should be thankful because we have much to be thankful for. In Psalm 40:5, David said,” “Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, they cannot be reckoned up in order.” Even if God would not give us another blessing in our lives, the blessing of salvation is worth more and is better than all the blessings of life combined. But God does not stop there. In Romans 8:32, Paul reminds us: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
You might know the song, “He Giveth More Grace” by Annie Flint. In it, she captures the reason we should be thankful – in all things: “…for out of his infinite riches in Jesus he giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.” But few know her story. Both of her parents died in childhood and she lived as an orphan. She dreamed of becoming a concert pianist but she developed rheumatoid arthritis that became so severe that she could not walk by age 30. But she focused on God’s mercies to her and learned to be thankful for all things.
The first verse of her song echoes her thankfulness for God’s mercies even in her sufferings:
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater
He sendeth more strength when labors increase
To added afflictions, he addeth his mercy
To multiplied trials, his multiplied peace
What are you thankful for this year? Thomas Watson reminds us that the godly man is a thankful man. We should be thankful “even though our hearts lie panting on the floor!”
Thankful for Teaching Opportunities …
October was a very busy month for teaching and November will be also. I finished my class on Evangelism for Kyiv Theological Seminary and I am finishing up papers from that class. Also, I had meetings with my assistants for the Church History Class (Kyiv) and for the Prayer and Worship Class (Lviv). It is exciting to see some of these young “professors” (all former students) preparing to teach these classes in the next year or so.This year, they will be helping me. Next year, they will be doing some of the teaching with me, and, hopefully, by 2025, they will be teaching the classes on their own. Be praying for me and for them as we make this transition.
Today, we are having our first session for Church History at Kyiv Theological Seminary. This is a very important class that helps students to see how the church has grown and how it handled conflicts and persecution. Be praying for us as we teach this class this week.
The class for Prayer and Worship (Ukrainian Baptist Seminary, Lviv) was scheduled for next week and I was really struggling as to how I could get everything done with back to back classes and also trying to finish up the house (see below) so we could move in. When I was meeting with a former student who will be teaching with me (David), he informed me that the seminary changed the class to the last week in May (2024). So that was a great praise for me! I am excited about David taking over this class. He has been teaching with me for about 3 years and is just about ready to teach on his own. He has been a great help and he is a really good teacher. Pray for us as we get this class ready for next May.
I also taught a Men’s Retreat in Florida at the beginning of October. We had planned to drive down as a family, but I just had too much work to do on the house. So I flew down at the start of the retreat and flew back the day after the retreat. The retreat focused on challenging the men to make disciples. We went through all of 2 Timothy discussing aspects and priorities of disciplemaking. It was a great time with a great group of men! Pray that much fruit will come out of this time with this group of men.
Then, the week after I returned, we were scheduled to share about Ukraine at Sonora Baptist Church in Springdale. We were asked to share with the middle school children’s missions study. They were studying about Ukraine the entire month of October. Fortunately for me, Katya and the girls prepared everything. They talked about Ukraine, Ukrainian culture and the gospel in Ukraine. They included some Ukrainian songs and even taught the children one Ukrainian song. Then they led a craft time as we all made Ukrainian flags to remind them to pray for Ukraine. I shared a little about our work in Ukraine, but Katya and the girls did almost everything! Even Kristina and Nadia wrote their own presentations and made the presentations without any help. They did great!
Finally, we were involved at the missions conference – NWA for the Nations. Katya and I taught about Ukraine at last year’s conference and I was one of the main speakers. They asked me to be one of the keynote speakers again this year. And Katya and I also helped out at two ministry booths at the breaks – Hiding Place Hollow and Global Serve International. We enjoyed being able to talk with the many students and individuals who were interested in preparing for missions. This is a great conference with nearly 1000 in attendance.
We also have been able to be involved in other activities with Hiding Place Hollow. Although we are not living there any more, we continue to be involved with the ministry there and we love spending time with the new missionary families. We are also able to be present at the opening of the fifth house for missionaries. A new missionary family will be moving in this Friday.
Last month was very busy for teaching and ministry. November will be almost as busy. Then I should have a short break until my next class in February. Right now, I have classes until next November (2024). That’s longer than we originally anticipated, but both seminaries need me to help with teaching at least until we can get the new professors ready. We are also continuing to explore how God wants us to be used while we are back in the states. We will be meeting with our board to discuss options (there are so many needs and opportunities!) and we hope to have some more clear direction in the new year. Pray for us as we seek to know what the Lord would have us to do in ministry in the coming years.
Thankful for Our Family …
Even with everything going on, we had time to enjoy some of the activities unique to America during Halloween. Our girls got to dress up for a Harvest Festival at a friend’s house, participate in pumpkin decorating, and went Trick or Treating dor-to-door with Haven and Harlie.
Also, we were blessed by joy coming up to visit a couple of times last month. Obviously the girls love spending time with Joy!
And we had an extra special surprise as Magda (from Poland) came to visit along with the Pattisons! Magda was an international student who lived with the Pattisons back in the 1990s. She and her parents came to visit us a couple of times in Kyiv. When the war began, she and her parents helped to care for Katya’s mom and grandmother for a number of months while we tried to get them to the states. It was a great joy to see her again!!! We even went to a Mexican restaurant and had a truly “international table” with Americans, Ukrainians, Magda from Poland, Maxim from the Czech Republic.
One big joy for Kristina and Nadia since we have been back in the states has been swimmming lessons at Goldfish Swimming school. They have learned so much and can now swim free style, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. They have just graduated from the Pro2 level and are now in the Swim Force.
Thankful for progress on the House …
So many things are coming together for the house last month and this month. In fact, it seems like everything is happening at once! That means I am working from morning to evening, only stopping for classes and other ministries. And I have been meeting with subcontractors nearly every day as we finish up. We decided to spend some more money than we had planned because we are behind and need to get into the house before December. So the septic is being put in right now, gutters are being added this week, the tile flooring is done and the wood flooring will be installed this week. We have built the vanities and cabinets for the bathrooms and laundry room. The kitchen cabinets are being installed this week and so is the final plumbing. Concrete pads are poured, the insulation is installed, the HVAC is up and running, and our wood stove is installed and ready for winter. All the appliances are in the house and should be installed this week too. We are in the process of finishing the electric and hanging all the doors. All this while trying to teach class this week! Pray for my time and sanity! Everyone says that I must be excited – actually, I’m too tired to be excited at this point! But we are making progress – fast!
Thankful for Ukraine …
Please continue to pray for Ukraine and our friends ministering there. The situation is improved greatly from last year, but the war is still on-going and Russia fires missles regularly into civilian areas. They appear to be gearing up for targeting heating and electric facilities this winter in an attempt to freeze Ukrainians again this week. This failed last winter but they are trying again this winter. Pray for the people of Ukraine.
Also, pray for the gospel in Ukraine. We have many friends and students serving as chaplains and helping with refugees. Pray that their work can go unhindered. We are so thankful for Ukraine, and for those that minister there even inspite of the difficulties of being in the war. Thank you for allowing us to continue to minister to them during this time!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya, Kristina and Nadia
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