Be Thankful

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

One of my favorite country songs back in the day was Unanswered Prayers sung by Garth Brooks. It was a song about a man that ran into an old high school girlfriend at a football game. He remembered how much he prayed that she would be the one he would marry. As they reminisce, they couldn’t remember a lot about those days. He was thankful that he had moved on and found the true love of his life. Paul said to “Give thanks in all things.” There are many things to be thankful for that are positive and beneficial in our lives. But also there are many things that are negative and beneficial as well! In the moment it’s hard to say thank you to God for those things that cause is pain, suffering, and loss. But looking back in my own life I can truly say unto God thank you for the lessons learned from bad situations and for those unanswered prayers!

This Thanksgiving may be a little harder for many families. There may be some family members that are no longer with us that will leave an empty chair at the table this year. There may be some who have lost their jobs, or inflation has hindered them in their travels and will not be able to join their loved ones this year. There is so much unrest and uncertainty in our country right now and we are just one House Bill away of experiencing maybe some of the highest inflation and darkest days since the Great Depression in the 1930’s. But yet Paul said “In all things be thankful, for this is the will of God concerning you.”

My point this morning is that we try not to focus on what we don’t have and focus on the things we do have. The things that have been lost we must believe that they have found their place in God’s will, God’s hands, or God’s presence. They are secure! Let us focus on the things that God has put in our hands, on our bodies, on our plates, and the multitude of blessings that He bestows on us daily that we take for granted. To be thankful is truly God’s will and I pray that “Not our will be done, but His will be done!”

Pastor Robby