Month: November 2019

We had our first snowfall the other day. The kids were thrilled to have the day off of school. They played Christmas music and begged to put up the decorations. “We haven’t even had Thanksgiving yet!” I responded. “So what?” they answered.

It’s the same thing in stores. Halloween wasn’t even over before the Christmas displays began to appear. Maybe Thanksgiving just isn’t a big money maker unless you’re the grocery. I guess when I think about it, that kind of makes sense. Gratitude doesn’t cost anything. It doesn’t require a shiny bow or elaborate planning. It’s best when it’s just spontaneously and sincerely given. We can cover a grinchy spirit with wrapping paper, but there’s no mistaking genuine gratitude.

Thankfulness isn’t our natural response. We don’t have to teach children to be selfish, but we do teach them (and remind them!) to say thank you. That’s all the more reason not to skip Thanksgiving. As we enter into the holiday season, before the frenzy of giving and getting and entertaining, it’s good to pause and reflect. To value and appreciate. To give praise before we give any other gift.

Maybe you don’t really appreciate your circumstances right now. That’s ok. We don’t always need to be glad about where we are. That’s not where thankfulness begins. Instead it begins with God, and our acknowledging who He is.

Thank God for who He is. All the good in our lives has His goodness as its starting point. Goodness is what He intends for us.  Goodness is what He has promised us. So we can be confident that good is coming.

“Since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:4, emphasis added

Thank God for His sovereignty over all He has made. Nothing is outside of His jurisdiction. Nothing is beyond His knowledge or His power. There is great comfort in any situation when we know this to be true.

“We can be [absolutely] sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8:28 MSG

Thank God for what He has done. Read Psalm 136 for a review of the goodness God  revealed through His care for Israel. There is mercy, kindness, compassion, protection, blessing, provision, salvation. These are the things we’re asking God for when we go to Him with our requests. These are what we can expect to receive from Him.

“He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right.” Psalm 84:11

Let gratitude be the very first gift you give of the Christmas season.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1

I’m mostly a do-it-yourself-er.  When there’s a project that needs doing, I like to dive right in.  Most of the time I wind up in over my head. The results often don’t measure up to what I pictured.

 

Social media presents us a filtered, staged, one-shot-out-of-a-hundred and says “this is real life.”  The implication is that it’s what everyone else’s real life is like and the fact that your real life doesn’t measure up means that you’re missing out, doing something wrong, not good enough.  But most of us know that’s not the truth. Whatever someone highlights might be a shining, wonderful moment that’s truly worth sharing, but we also know from experience – there’s a whole lot behind the photo that we would never want anyone else to see.

 

Somehow we think we’re the only ones with a mess behind the camera.  We’re the only ones dealing with difficulty, setback, heartbreak. And that’s just not true.  Trouble is something everyone faces.  It rarely comes at a convenient time, on your schedule, in a way that you can just take it all in stride. We’re almost always caught off guard when it shows up. That’s why it’s a problem.

 

When trouble shows up uninvited, some people might wonder why anyone would bother being a Christian.  But the believer has an inside perspective on suffering that the non-believer doesn’t.  The believer has an explanation for why suffering exists (see Job) and a promise that suffering isn’t the end of the story (see Jesus).  Therefore we can endure suffering, bear up under it, with HOPE!

 

Christ suffered, and He relied on God’s character (He is merciful, compassionate, full of loving kindness) and sovereignty (His purposes will always prevail) to sustain Him until the trial passed.  The enemy wants you to think that what you have not yet seen is bad. That the future holds hidden terrors. But God has given us an example in Christ that we can look to when we get discouraged, want to give up, or wonder if God has forsaken us.  Our problem might be big, but it’s not too big for God. Our trial might seem like it’s never going to end, but it won’t go on forever. It’s a feather-weight, a vapor’s vapor leading us to an immeasurable amount of glory.

 

On the way to the Cross, Jesus laid it out – “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Take heart. Don’t lose your heart – keep a firm grip on it, because there’s an enemy who wants to steal it.  He will keep dogging our footsteps and nipping at our heels, but he can’t snatch us from the Lord or overpower God’s purposes for us. We have a God who is stronger than death, and whose desire and intention and work is towards giving us life – real life (John 10:10).