As it is Thanksgiving in the United States, please join me in refection upon Psalm 136 which is a beautiful model for being truly thankful. As this Psalm states, no matter what God is doing, His love for us is everlasting. It starts with who God is, moves through various things that He has done and finishes with how He is ever mindful of us.
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Within the past couple of weeks there have been quite a few conversations to make plans for Thanksgiving. While the menu hasn’t varied too much from year to year, the people with whom we share the meal have varied greatly. Naturally, the core group has always been our immediate family. However, many years have regularly included extended family, friends and acquaintances. As I consider those with whom I have celebrated this holiday, I am reminded that I am most thankful for the people that God has chosen to weave in and out of my life. Their roles, the length of time in my life and the affection for them has varied greatly, but they have all had a purpose. As the saying reminds us, some people are a blessing while others are a lesson.
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While it may seem a bit elemental, are you ever just thankful for God? I’m certainly not often enough. We regularly thank Him for what He provides and what He does for us, but the root of all that we are thankful for rests in God alone and who He is. He is the starting point. He is a living being who desires a relationship with us…those that He has lovingly created for specific purposes, those whose lives He has carefully planned and those whose righteousness has been purchased with the death of His only Son. If we took the time to consider His attributes, His care and His concern for us, wouldn’t our souls be overwhelmed with thankfulness for our Creator…Father, Son and Holy Spirit? The reasons that we can and should be thankful for our God are innumerable and exceed the scope of our awareness in this life, yet scripture is still full of so many details that we can comprehend and appreciate. Consequently, for this post, I have selected a sampling of passages that speak to Our Lord’s character as well as a few of the reasons that we should fall on our knees in awe and be thankful for our God and our relationship with Him.
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Most people are fairly comfortable being thankful for God’s provisions and for the people in their lives. While we may not feel that our circumstances are quite as perfect as those depicted in Norm Rockwell’s “Freedom from Want”, we can generally muster a fairly strong attitude of thankfulness. Certainly when we feel that things are going relatively well, we are filled with thankfulness, but what about when the times are tough. Thanksgiving of 1992 I woke up in the hospital after having an ERCP the previous day. I was in pain and groggy; I barely remember celebrating the holiday, let alone being thankful.
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This week Thanksgiving is being celebrated across the United States. The day has been set aside to thank God for His provisions and mercies. However, as we approach the day, we hear more about food, football, sales and traveling rather than we do about giving thanks to God. When the concept of being thankful is brought up, it’s usually in terms of a general attitude rather than focusing on the one to whom we give thanks.
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These are the miscellaneous ramblings of my mind as I ran that turned into a quick post. It may not be as polished, but I hope that this post is a blessing just the same.
I just enjoyed what was probably my last unencumbered run of the year. As the weather cools, I will need to bundle up more than the average person. It was a good run. As I ran, I was reminded of this passage and the depth of its meaning. In all likelihood, I thought of it as a result of spending the morning prepping for next week’s post on a very predictable topic. The rest of the run I considered many of the things I am grateful for.
I am thankful that I can run, even with all of its encumbrances, regulations and limitation. Ten years ago I spent most of my time on the sofa with barely any energy. My goal for each day was to be showered and dressed before Marie came home. I don’t know how long God will allow me to continue running, but I appreciate them so much these days and don’t take them for granted.
I am thankful for music that keeps me moving. Today it was my Christmas running playlist and I’m thankful for the artists that share their gifts with us. I was also thankful for the wind blowing making the run harder as it reminded me that life can be difficult, but God is always with me encouraging me to keep moving forward no matter what I face.
I am thankful for every ache and pain as I run. They remind of the years and the miles this body has endured. They remind me that through all of those journeys, and those yet to come, God has been faithful and loving in spite of my errors and missteps. Some times have been sweet, others bitter and many in between, but they have all been blessed and were God’s will for me.
I am thankful for my illness. It has brought me out of legalism and religion to a real relationship with my Lord that I may not have experienced otherwise. I am thankful for the small ministry that I have as a result. I am thankful for those who have walked this journey with me…not the least of which are my wife and daughters who have given up and suffered as much as I. On that subject alone, I could go on for some time.
I am thankful for parents who did not abort me. It’s not that my parents would have ever considered the notion, but nevertheless, our current culture would allow it. Despite the fact that my birthday is in March, it would not be until 60 years ago next month that my mother’s doctor would acknowledge that she was pregnant. He insisted that I was a tumor. Mom, as both a mother twice over and a nurse, knew differently and held her ground. Further, while my mother would never say this, my birth created some adjustments as I was significantly younger than my siblings. Also, my birth was literally sandwiched between missionary board meetings in which my father was laying out the proposal for a new mission in Ecuador. It’s one thing to move two teenagers to another country, but a toddler certainly complicated the mix. While that was not to be, it certainly must have weighed on their minds.
I am thankful for those saints who have enriched my life but have gone to be with our Lord. Their deaths have caused great sorrow and pain. Yet I know that they have met their Lord and are enjoying eternity with Him. How could I ever wish that their reward be postponed? It is bittersweet, but I am both thankful for their time with us and that they currently enjoy peace and joy that in inexpressible.
I am grateful for many more things like; a mother and father-in-law who loved me, a great son-in-law, and two grandsons; a church that is faithful to God’s word and my church family; as well as the many things we normally consider blessings at this time of year. However, I wanted to share what came to mind as I considered this verse. God has been my God since birth and has planned all of the events of my life to bring me to this point and I am grateful. Consequently, “I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving.” (Ps. 69:30)
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases.” Psalm 103:2-3
Several years after I became ill, my wife and I participated in a study of the book “Experiencing God”. That study was the first in a series of events over several years that would help me understand my illness from God’s perspective. One night during the small group review of our homework, Psalm 103 was discussed. As the group reviewed these verses, the frustration with my illness and the seeming lack of concern on God’s part became overwhelming and I left the room in tears. I could not understand Psalm 103:3 in the context of my health issues and it hurt deeply. I knew that I was probably missing the point of the text, but the words were haunting me.
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