Thanks... No Matter what it Looks Like!

​A little boy of six was invited to his neighbor’s home for a meal. As soon as all were seated at the table the food was served. The little boy was puzzled, and with a child’s frankness asked, “Don’t you say a prayer before you eat?” The host was uncomfortable and mumbled, “No, we don’t take time for that.” The boy thought silently for a while, and said, “Oh, you’re just like my dog. You just dive right in.”

Do you ever dive into something without the Lord?  I think we can all agree that life is not always what we expected. We all have our stories. For all the peaks, we also must go through our fair share of valleys. Whatever your journey has been, it does not change the goodness of God. You don’t give thanks if you don’t believe someone deserves the thanks. Thanksgiving for Christians is awareness of who God is and what He has done. It does not mean we don’t recognize that there are difficulties, it simply—yet profoundly—means we stand upon a greater reality. God is on the throne and deserves praise! 
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We have much to be thankful for each Thanksgiving and each day. Our highest thanksgiving comes from the gift of Jesus our Savior. God has given us everything in Christ; therefore, we thank and praise Him, serve and obey Him. “Thank the Lord and sing his praise; tell everyone what he has done” (offertory, LSB). Each day will not go as we would like it to go. This is undeniable truth.  There will be disasters, storms, and diagnoses.  It recalls another cute story of a little boy who was asked to pray for dinner. Before he bowed his head to pray, he looked at the dish. Then, closing his eyes he prayed, “Lord, I don’t like the looks of it, but I’ll thank you and eat it anyway.”  Such is life in a broken world; sometimes we won’t like the looks of things.  Yet we remember to stay faithful and stand resilient. Whatever dish life puts before us, we eat it knowing that our God is right beside us.  We dare not let our circumstances squash our faith. Through the many challenges we encounter, the devil would have us doubt and question God. At those moments let us go the Psalms and other passages in God’s Holy Word for comfort and assurance. One that I recall is from Habakkuk 3:17-18: “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” 

Keep rejoicing my friends. Give thanks and have a blessed Thanksgiving!
I’m grateful for you all!
><>Pastor Steve

“A bad moment for an atheist is when he feels grateful and has no one to thank.” (G.K. Chesterton)

“What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” (unknown)
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“Thanksgiving is a time for families and friends to gather together and express gratitude for all that we have been given, the freedoms we enjoy, and the loved ones who enrich our lives. We recognize that all of these blessings, and life itself, come not from the hand of man but from Almighty God.” (George W. Bush)