Happy US Thanksgiving to all you ladies from America! In our marriage, we have an American and a Canadian. This means that we decorate the house for Canadian Thanksgiving (the same day as Columbus Day in America), and we keep it all up until the American Thanksgiving. I really like this tradition, because Thanksgiving is more of a season in our home than just a one-day event. Thanksgiving is really supposed to be a way of life – a posture of the heart.
“In everything give thanks.”
We all know this verse. Some of us were quoted this verse from infancy. We know we need to be thankful for everything we have. Most of us have probably reached the point in our spiritual lives where we can say with honesty that we are thankful for the things that we perceive to be negative. We can be thankful for loneliness, for isolation, for rejection, for loss, for betrayal, and many other things, because we have sensed more intensely the presence of the Lord and the warmth of His embrace, as He sustained us and held us up with His hand, saying:
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10
But please consider this quote. “All that I need, I have. All that I have, I need.” This quote has been a great source of conviction to me through the years. Sometimes, I do well at accepting what I have in my life, as all being orchestrated by God with the purpose of making me into what He needs me to be, but sometimes I have a hard time accepting that I “need” whatever it is that is plaguing me. Sometimes, the circumstances or people in our lives, which are beyond our control, begin to define us in a way that we don’t like. But we’ve learned to accept those things, because we know that the God Who created us, also has the right to define us.
How do we do in being thankful for the good things we want for ourselves or for others, but are still lacking? Do we desire a more fruitful ministry; a more ____ husband (you can fill in the blank there); children who are more dedicated to the Lord; a friend/partner in the ministry with whom we can confide; a more communicative sending church; the salvation of a lost family member; et cetera? Can we be thankful and joyful even though there are still unanswered prayer requests on our prayer list?
Do we make our list of things to be thankful for, and then think to ourselves, “Life would be perfect, if it wasn’t for that one thing I don’t have”. I could really be used for God in a greater way if ____ would just happen. Let’s not stop praying for those good things, and working towards those good things; but let’s not let those unfulfilled, righteous desires keep us from giving thanks in everything. Let’s not allow that “one thing” to become an idol that blocks our view of our Savior. Let’s apply the truth of these verses to our hearts, and allow them to recalibrate the lenses from which we view our present day realities.
“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:” Ecclesiastes 3:11
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;” II Corinthians 3:5
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I Corinthians 15:57
Maureen, thanks for this. It was an encouragement to me. I haven't heard that statement before, "All that I need, I have. All that I have, I need." My first thought was it was a litmus test for not being a hoarder. LOL. I like your application of it, and am going to think about it this morning in my devotions as I'm going through a particular physical situation right now during our busiest season. I shall focus on why I "need" this in my life right now. Thanks again.
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