I wasn't going to do this (write a thanksgiving themed post), but here I am. Thanksgiving, the day we push glutton aside, and stuff ourselves with unbelievable amounts of food, and then go back for dessert. It's the day we spend being thankful for what we have, then wake up early the next morning to spend with the most greedy, selfish, rude people on earth. Black Friday... should be called 'green' Friday. Here I am bashing Black Friday and it's one of my favorite days of the year. I was very disappointing when I heard we may not be going out this year. It's an adventure. The crowds are obstacle courses, it's a treasure hunt for the items on your list, a marathon to keep going, adrenaline rushing through you as you race between aisles, and memories to last a lifetime. I won't spend my time telling you all my stories.... maybe another day. Instead, we are being thankful! :) Ephesians 5:20, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Sitting in our Testimony Service earlier this week, a thought crossed my mind, and I couldn't help but start writing as we were singing. I know a lot of y'all have had Thanksgiving services recently as well; taking turns and sharing what you are thankful for. I very much enjoy it. One thing I noticed was, there's always the typical, and obvious, things people are thankful for.... God, their family, Salvation, their church, the Bible, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with that, we should be thankful for them. But so often, I think we forget to give thanks for other things in our life; the things that aren't so obvious, or easy to be thankful for. Some things are difficult to be thankful for, but if we really consider them, they may just be blessings in disguise.
Wrong Timing "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecc. 3.1) Again, I struggle with patience. I want things to happen now, and I want to know when, why and how. Sometime I don't understand why things happen the way they do, or when they do, but His timing is always best. Even though it never happens when I think it should, His timing is always perfect. I can look back and see how awesome it truly is that it happened at just the right time. Isaiah 55.8 & 9, " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Sometimes I get discouraged thinking something will never happen, but someday, I will look back and be thankful He didn't give it to me when I wanted it. Which leads me to the next thing we should be thankful for. Unanswered prayer We often pray for things that aren't good for us. Or, they may be good, but they're not the best. We should thank God for not answering all our prayers! Where would we be if He had? Our selfish, prideful, or simply ignorant prayers, as right as they may seem, aren't always what we need. Jonah prayed a prayer in Jonah 4 verse 3, "Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live". Jonah did not receive what he asked for. Many things we pray for as well aren't good for us. We often pray things against God's will. His way is perfect, yet in our anger, or doubt, we don't trust Him. It's ironic to me how we pray against His will, when the One to whom we are praying... you know, He can do whatever He wants. Trials The greatest, most difficult, bitter trial you will ever go through... one day, maybe not now, but one day, you will look back and thank God for it. It's been said, "Thank God in your trials, maybe not for the trial, but in it". I understand that. Some things, I can not truly say I am grateful I have gone through it. At this point, I can not see past the negative. But, I am realizing more and more, we should be grateful for them. The verse I used earlier, Ephesians 5.20 says we are to give thanks for all things. So, to me, it's obvious. There are things we cannot learn, unless we are uncomfortable. There are precious lessons that are given to those who go through the most difficult trials, and only then can you learn them. We may despise, resent; detest what we have gone through, but if we really knew the reason for it, we would be thanking God for allowing it our way. A lot of trials we go through are self-inflicted. We bring them upon ourselves. Still, God uses them for good. (Romans 5.3-5; 2 Corinthians 4. 16-18) Our Failures and imperfections Our imperfections keep us humble. Our failures remind us of our dependence on God. Our mistakes show us our need to rely on Him. 2 Corinthians 12.9 & 10. "And he said unto me, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong." Unknown Future One of my all time favorite singer/songwriters is Benjamin Everson. A song he wrote entitled "Your Will Be Done" is one of my favorites. It goes like this, "If God's way was easy, would I really trust Him more? Would I follow Him more closely if I'd seen the way before? Would my life be so simple if everything made sense, or would I miss the joy of trust, and loose my recompense? If I saw the way before me.. each journey and each step, would I need to trust my Savior and hide within the cleft. Oh, how sweet it truly is, to trust His every word to grasp the hand of the mighty God, the One I'm called to serve. Your will be done. Your way I'll follow. What you want for me, I'll want. Where you guide me, I'll go. When it's time to take another step, I'll run. Your will be done.........." We are as little children inside, when we face uncertainty, we cry out for our Daddy (or at least we should). So often, through the dark, unknowns, we become closer to Him. We must. He is the only thing we can cling to; the only thing we can be sure of. He is constant. He is always the same. He never changes, He'll never fail us, and He'll never lead us wrong. If we knew every step of our future, there's no doubt in my mind, many of us wouldn't have developed a close relationship with Christ. When in an uncertain time, you want to be as close to your Refuge as possible. His way is perfect. God is good. He gives us so many blessings, many of which we are unaware of and couldn't comprehend if we knew. Today, and tomorrow, and the day after that.... let's just "fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you." (1 Samuel 12.24)
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Lizzy parkerMarriage.
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January 2023
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