Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! Have you ever found yourself thinking, “If only she would agree to a date, then I’d be happy; If only my job were more flexible, then life would be better. If only we had enough savings to retire, we could do everything we want to do”.
At varying times in our lives, work, relationships, money, homes, children, health, etc., most of us find ourselves thinking ‘if only’, hoping the answer will bring happiness, moving us to ‘gratitude’ or ‘thanksgiving’. However, we should be questioning how to live in gratitude to God – in the “moment”, rather than dreaming that the next thing around the corner will fill the longing of our hearts. Let’s look at the profound prayer/song of advice about living thankfully, that Ezra wrote for the Jews in 1 Chronicles, Chapter 16. When, about 500 years after King David, the Jews returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon, they found their city in ruins, there was no wall or temple and they did not have a lot to be thankful for. Nehemiah helped them to re-build, Ezra reminded Israel of King David’s prayers when he assigned Asaph and his relatives to pray and thank the Lord, who deserves our thanks, praise and gratitude – not only in the daily chores of life but in challenging times.
Without focusing on what we would like God to do, we should thank God for all that He has done in our lives, and SHARE these blessings with others. We should thank God for what all He does in our families, our jobs, our Church, our mission work, etc., and be grateful for His mercy and understanding when we’re struggling, and His wisdom and discernment to help us and strengthen our faith in Him.
David’s prayer reminded the Israelites that they belonged to God forever, and we, too, should be thankful that we belong to God Almighty! God doesn’t break His promises, and He covenanted with Abraham and all his descendants right down to David, and then Joseph; and then God sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son to earth. Christ taught us and showed us the way to God, and willingly died on the Cross for the remediation of the world’s sins; whoever accepts Him as their Lord and Saviour, becomes a child of God, and will not perish, but have eternal life with Him in Heaven. Our identity and fulfilment are found in Him.
We should always remember whom we belong to: to GOD – NOT ourselves, our work, our families, our successes, our fans or anyone or anything else. We belong solely to God and must put Him first in our lives. When we know whom we belong to – we know whom to be thankful to!
God is who He says He is – Greater than any other god, filled with splendour, power, majesty, strength, holiness, glory and joy – He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God Almighty, the Father, the Son adn the Holy Spirit! God has the right to ask us to put Him first, and throughout history up to the present day, He pursues and protects His covenant with every one of us. He gave us His ALL; we need to thank Him for who He is and for His unconditional love!
There are many who do NOT know who our GOD is, and they complain about many things in their lives. We should be sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone! Let us do so!