Thanksgiving

The night before Thanksgiving day, I'm sitting here gazing at a beautifully illuminated moon and thinking about all that I have to be thankful for. Like many others we are sick this year and unable to celebrate with family...still we are counting all of the incredible blessings in our lives!

The first things that come to my mind have nothing to do with possessions. We've had seasons where we've had nothing, yet the joy, peace and fullness within our hearts outweighed any lack. No matter where you are in this season of your life, you always have much to be thankful for. One thing I've learned in 40 years as a Christian is that circumstances have absolutely nothing to do with how blessed I am. We have a God who loved us enough to sacrifice His Son for our sins. We've been given the opportunity to receive Him so that we can experience an intimate relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Not as servants, but sons and daughters! The simple fact that we have the opportunity to spend eternity with Jesus would have been enough, but it was only the beginning. He's intricately involved in the details of our lives. His love transcends any fears, insecurities or weaknesses. It's perfect, extravagant and full of mercy. This too is the tip of the iceberg. There's so much He paid for just in the work of the cross... His blood sacrifice redeemed us from sin and eternal damnation. The stripes upon His back is a promise of healing for our bodies. Still it would take me days to write about how He rescued me from the enemy's grip and the healing He performed in my heart, mind and emotions.

As I'm thinking about His goodness, the list goes on and on. Yes, I'm blessed with a fantastic family, husband, kids, in laws, siblings and grandkids, but even if that's not the case for you, there's still an infinite amount of blessings you can be thankful for, and it has nothing to do with earthly circumstances or possessions. There's nothing wrong with having things and we certainly need to be appreciative of everything God has done in our lives, but there's so much more than the physical... it's about our relationship with Jesus, finding our identity in Him as you truly get to know Him. When you tap into that, everything else becomes secondary. THANK YOU JESUS!!

Isaiah 53:5-6 (MSG) We looked down on Him, thought He was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains He carried our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought He brought it on Himself, that God was punishing Him for His own failures. But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through His bruises we get healed. We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on Him, on Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV) Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Colossians 3:15-17 (NLT) And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

1 Chronicles 16:34 (NKJV) O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.