Thanks – giving

I know that it’s almost Christmas, but this message is in His perfect timing…

Thanks – giving

We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.… Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Psalm 75:1   ESV    1 Thessalonians 5:18   NLT/ESV

Be thankful. Be grateful. Give thanks. Those phrases get tossed around quite a bit this time of year. Heck, I have plaques all over my kitchen shouting it! Yet these expressions can ring incredibly hollow when this is your first holiday after the death of a child, or a spouse or a parent…or a marriage. Or you’re in a locked prison cell, or overwhelmed with loneliness forged by a pandemic. Or your lap doubles as a dinner “table” as you sit on a curb eating while others pass by – ignoring your exitance…Even the loneliness of monotony can rob us of a thankful heart.

Rather than anticipating laughter and fun around the family dinner table – some anticipate pain, heartache, loneliness and loss.Yet…oh dear one…allow me to oh so gently encourage you…

This Thanksgiving Day, I encourage you…be thankful. Even if that means giving thanks in spite of your present crisis. In spite of your difficulties. In spite of crushed dreams and expectations.  In spite of your pain. When all is stripped away – His great love is enough to be thankful for. Don’t allow this season to be overshadowed by a pandemic, “Black Friday” or Turkey Day or whatever else the world has morphed this holiday into. Give thanks to and for the One who holds your very breath in His loving hands and gave the life of His Son for us.

Search if you must. Sift through the debris of your life if that’s what it takes – but find something and then give thanks. Even if it’s being thankful for the transforming power of pain…

While cleaning my hall mirror (wiping away grandchildren finger prints) I was struck with my own ingratitude. Why do the fingerprints on the mirror cause me pause more than the beautiful little fingers that smeared them there? How did I go from on-my-knees thankful for a warm bed, full cabinets and the peace-filled serenity of my home – to grumbling about check-out lines and slow drivers? How??

How do we go from being in awe of the Cross of Christ that saved us to finding church another duty to fulfill? Why is it so easy to overlook His bountiful blessings of breath in our lungs, a clear mind, a bed to sleep in, a grandchild to clean up after or a little one to hold? Some reading these words would give anything to have such priceless gifts.

If WWII Nazi concentration camp survivor, Corrie ten Boom, could thank God for fleas/lice in her prison bunk, surely, we can find something to thank Him for.

Magnificent Father, giver of all good gifts, thank You for saving me and lavishing me with such things as peace in the midst of difficulty, calm in the midst of storms and security in the midst of such uncertainty. Enable me to focus on what You have blessed me with rather than what I perceive as lack. You are good and You are faithful. How I love You!  In Jesus’ name. Amen

Written by Becky White for my Lord Jesus