1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In
everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you."
A
Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving to all!
A couple years ago I
read this little story:
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A five-year-old girl
was asked to say the blessing at Thanksgiving dinner. She began by thanking
God for all her friends, naming them one by one. Then she thanked God for
Mommy, Daddy, Brother, Sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all her Aunts and Uncles.
Finally, she gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the
cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes. Then she paused. After a long silence,
the young girl looked up at her mother and asked, “If I thank God for the
broccoli, won’t He know I’m lying?”
Her little-girl honesty makes a
great point: All of us have "broccoli" in our lives that is hard to
give thanks for! But the verse above makes it clear that we are to
give thanks "in" everything, not "for" everything.
For example, a few days before
Rachel got married her great-grandmother was in the hospital with heart
failure. I wasn't thankful for that.
But I was grateful that she was surrounded by loving family, that she was
receiving excellent care, and that she knew Jesus.
Big difference.
Likewise, I never said,
"Thank You, Lord, Jorge has skin cancer! Yippee!"
But I did say over and over again,
"Thank You that Jorge kept the appointment with the dermatologist
because he really didn't want to go. Thank You it was caught early, and Thank
You that You watch over even our tiniest cells..."
Giving thanks opens our eyes to
God's presence in our lives, and it strengthens our faith. No
matter what "broccoli" you have going on, there is some aspect to be
thankful for. Think about it.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are thankful
for You. You are aware of every single thing that we are going through,
and by encouraging us to be thankful, our faith is strengthened. In
Jesus' name, AMEN~
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