Happy Thanksgiving
I love the holiday season and Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday of all. The holiday of abundance.
This is the one holiday of the year where I receive new revelation and meaning to the Scripture of Isaiah 54 verse 2, “Enlarge the place of your Tent” (my translation reads “enlarge the waist of your pants.”). Just kidding.
I really do enjoy it. Though the reality of the holidays for a lot of people can be a mixed bag of emotions, and for some can be just plain difficult.
I am learning, year by year, my expectations for how things should be or unfold during the holiday season play a big part in the condition of my heart. If I am not careful, I can easily make Thanksgiving into a day of ungratefulness. In fact, this isn’t just true for the holiday season. At any point in my life, if I’m not staying grounded in thankfulness, my expectations will quickly hijack my heart and will begin to pull me into disappointment. Our flesh is prone to make everything we do about us and what we want. Which is a great way to live a disenchanted life. Instead, God has commanded us to live a joyful life anchored to continual prayer and thanksgiving.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
You might ask, how can I give thanks when things are going exactly the opposite of how I would choose them to go? The key is not giving thanks because of circumstances, but giving thanks because of who God is and who He has called you to be. Regardless of your unfavorable situation, there is a God in heaven who delights in you and is inviting you into His abundant life (John 10:10). That’s reason enough to say thank you. As I learn to give thanks, as a discipline rather than a response, I slowly lose sight of my desire on earth and slowly become more aware of God's will in my life. Giving thanks empowers me to let go of the temporal things of earth and the ability to enjoy the eternal things of God's Kingdom that I was made for. So as Thanksgiving approaches and the smell of roasted turkey fills our kitchens, let me say this… I am so thankful for you, and all God is doing in your life, seen and unseen. I pray the rest of this year is filled with His joy in your home.
Love,
Pastor John