Thursday, November 12, 2009

Tis the Season to be Thankful

Have you ever had those days when you sigh and think "If only I had _______" or "If only I could do __________" and yet by circumstances totally out of your control you realize now is not the time for your dreams to come true?

Now when I say dreams, I'm not referring to little materialistic desires like "I wish I had a Starbucks right now," or "I wish I could buy the latest cell phone." In this case I'm talking about deeper dreams, dreams of salvation for family, dreams of healing for sickness, dreams of hard situations getting easier . . . . I'm sure you could fill in the blanks with your dreams.

No matter where we are in life, we know there are things that we will want to change. Though we may raise our requests to God in prayer, the answer that comes back may be "no" or perhaps "not yet." At that point we have a choice to make, will we accept God's will in contentment or will we continue to pine away for the change we so desire?

Clearly, our Father does not intend for us to fret our lives away yearning for all of our dreams to be fulfilled. Instead He commands us to lay our cares at His feet and to place our trust fully in Him. But not only are we to trust Him, we are to be thankful in every situation. Yes, in everything.

Phil 4:6-7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Eph 5:20 "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

1 Thes 5:17-18 "Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Consider the flip side for a moment. If we weren't thankful for something what attitude would we be portraying? Would we be second guessing God? Would we be in danger of becoming bitter? When we say that we believe God works all things together for our good, do we truly believe it? Are we willing to let the Potter mold us and shape us through His plans for our lives?

Not only are we to be content in all circumstances (Heb 13:5; Phil 4:11)but we are to be thankful that God in His sovereignty has placed those challenges in our lives. Ultimately, any challenge that presents itself is for our good and His glory. Someday, when we have a bird's eye view of our lives, we will be able to
see how God was there at every twist and turn in the road shaping us and molding us to be more like Him. ~~~

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.

He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

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