Well, it is no surprise that this time of year has us evaluating our lives and what we have to be thankful for. This year has been difficult for many. The economy is bad, tragedies have struck, lives have been forever changed. But please be encouraged…our God is the same as he was in the roaring 20’s, the boom of the 80’s, the day you married the love of your life, the day you welcomed your babies into the world. He is still there and He still reigns! Remember that this world is not our home. And the things we possess or don’t possess are just “stuff.” With each trial comes opportunity for growth and for the power of God to be made perfect in us! That is why we are told to rejoice in trial! Anyone can be happy when all is well. But a person who can stand under tremendous pain, loss, and struggle and boldly say, “God is in control, and I will rejoice in Him.” is a person who can make a tremendous impact for the kingdom.
Christ told us we would have tough times. But He also told us He has overcome this world! It doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen to us, but it does mean they can’t rob us of the power and joy and peace that He has placed in our hearts. The world, the enemy, can only take from us what we allow it to. So stand firm. Be bold. And decide that what Satan intends for evil God will use for good!
Now, I know we are not all going through tough times, but let those who aren’t encourage and intercede for those who are. Let us remember as we take an inventory of what we can be thankful for this year to start with the gift of salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Please take a minute to read the passages below and just take some time to sit a while with your Father this Thanksgiving.
1 Thes 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
James 1:2-12 “Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. 3Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. 4But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. 5If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of [a]the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. 7For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, 8[For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]. 9Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his elevation [as a Christian, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God], 10And the rich [person ought to glory] in being humbled [by being shown his human frailty], because like the flower of the grass he will pass away. 11For the sun comes up with a scorching heat and parches the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away. Even so will the rich man wither and die in the midst of his pursuits. 12Blessed (happy, [b]to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.
1 Cor 10:13 “For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not [a]adjusted and [b]adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to [c]a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.”
