This weeks
Devotion
An Interesting Year
2008 has been quite the year.
There is the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And no matter how you feel about the war, it touches all of our hearts deeply.
Hurricane Anna and Hurricane Ike destroyed our cities.
Then there is Wall Street. Everyone’s financial picture looks differently than it did five months ago.
It’s like we carry sadness with us everyday. Virtually all of our families have experienced the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one, the pain divorce or the embarrassment of a home foreclosure.
In the middle of all this we have walked through a presidential campaign that spent millions of dollars. We elected a new President.
2008, Oh yeah it is almost Thanksgiving. That time of year when we are supposed to be thankful for all of our blessings. So we try to do it. We know we should. But it is hard to feel thankful especially after 2008.
But, what if, we did something different this year? What if we looked up at God, the giver of every good and perfect gift? What if we stop equating our blessings with our circumstances? What if we stopped defining our blessings in terms of our circumstances? What if we stopped to think that the real blessing that we have in life is God who is present with us?
It would mean we would be thankful that he never leaves us nor forsakes us. It would mean that we are grateful for worshiping the God who is chasing us and inviting us to chase him. It would mean that we would thank the healer in the midst of the hurt. It would mean that we would express gratitude in response to who God is. Period. Gratitude is when we realize we are not entitled to anything. Gratitude not for our circumstances, but for God’s involvement in the middle of them. If this year was different, gratitude for God’s presence might just change everything. Everything!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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