Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. For those of you who may know me, I will add that it is NOT because of the feasting.

I love this holiday because it gives me an excuse to think about all the things I am thankful for. I have been thinking over the past week or two about many things for which I am thankful to my God in Heaven. On several occasions I have started to write about my Dad, my Mom, my wife, my daughter, my son, my mother-in-law, my extended family including those on my wife's side of the family, my church home, several men in my church who inspire me, encourage me, support me, and pray for me, and numerous other things including my health, job, material possessions, etc. I think that these people and things are so important to who I am that I will devote some time to writing about them. But for today I have another thought of thankfulness.

I have so many things to be thankful for and at times I feel overwhelmed with the way God has blessed me in this life. I know that some of His greatest blessings do not include any of the things I mentioned previously, and do include struggles, suffering, pain, and humility. When I read James 1:2-3 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness", I first think that I would like to be joy filled without the need to face trials. I find it difficult to pray for trials in my life, but I do want to be steadfast in my faith. Can I be steadfast in my faith without testing? Can I experience deep relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ without sharing in His suffering? Can I truly empathize with the passion the Lord calls me to with people who are suffering if I have never suffered?

I struggle with these thoughts and with what I am asking for when I ask the Lord to strengthen my faith, deepen my love for Him, draw me close and shelter me beneath the shadow of His wing. When I pray those things am I not praying that the Lord will give me trials that will lead me to Him, help me to identify in the suffering of my Lord and Savior, and seek Him for shelter and as a refuge?

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the faithfulness of my God. I am thankful that He has clothed me with Christ so that when I stand before Him he doesn't see the blackness of my heart and the guilt that the enemy tries to make me claim, but He sees the Lamb that was slain, the Holy One of God, His one and only Son. Because of the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty God of the universe sees me as His son; holy and blameless in His sight and washed with the blood of the Savior. Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

We sing a song at church sometimes that touches my heart. It is a song where in one verse I thank Him and praise Him when the sun is shining down and all is as it should be, and in another I thank Him and praise Him when I walk in the desert place, thought there is pain in the offering. My God is faithful and He will receive my praise and my worship whether I feel as if I am on the mountain top or mired in the deepest valley. My God reigns and He is worthy of my praise, my devotion, my adoration, my worship, my faithfulness, and, while I sit with my family and eat from the abundance He has provided, my thanks.