Even if…we will give thanks
In case you hadn’t heard, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.
So a head’s up…if you haven’t thawed your turkey yet, you may be thinking about a menu adjustment.
I have pages of notes with menu’s and schedules of when I can start certain things ahead of time…what needs to be done Thursday morning and my ADHD/perfectionist/emotional self is in high gear.
But there is more.
Over the years, I have been told that I am transparent, a straight-shooter, genuine and, from one older gentleman a number of years ago — “the real deal”.
In all of that, I take it to mean that what I share is from my heart and my heart is, to the best of my ability, kept open before the Lord…so you may get more truth than you wanted from me at times…but you will always get the truth.
So the truth is, this is not one of those joyous Thanksgivings for us, nor for quite a few of our friends and acquaintances.
Certainly it is not what we would hope for this state, this nation and for the world. The spread sheet is leaning heavily on the side of trials and tribulations for many.
All of us are affected by hard circumstances and loss; some are the consequences of sin and some are just part of living on planet Earth.
But we will give thanks to God.
Not by pretending these things aren’t happening.
Not by faking a nice little world inside our dining room on Thursday.
Not by medicating or shopping or positive thinking or faking gratitude by coming up with things that … “At least we have this or that going for us…”
No.
We will thanks to God for He is good.
We will give thanks to God in our trials because He is faithful.
We will give thanks to God for His provision and protection and providence.
We will give thanks to God for He is our ALL in ALL. In every situation, He is our everything.
The book of Habakkuk ends with a prayer that echoes the mood of us as individuals and as a nation. The writer of this book lists a variety of things that would prove devastating for his existence by saying, even if these things happen….
EVEN IF…the worst things I can think of come to be….
YET…
I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:18)
And he says he can and will do this because…
The Lord God is my strength….He will give me the ability and agility to move through anything that comes my way. He will bring me safely over the mountains of this life. (Habakkuk 3:19)
In the midst of our own messes, in the midst of the pain of others, in the helplessness we feel for those who are trying to be heard…we will give thanks to God and look to Him to deliver us all.
May God bless each of you as we…journey onward with praise and thanksgiving to Him who is able <3