Dear Precious Friends,
It’s TGIFF! Thank God I’m Forgiven Friday
During this season of Thanksgiving we are reminded to give thanks to God for everything. Next Thursday, we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. By tradition of that day, we reflect and give thanks for the blessings of the year. We all know we’ve been blessed. But do we realize our blessings from God are set apart from outward circumstances? James reminded us that “” Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…”(James 1:17) God’s gifts involve the deepest experiences of hope and peace.
How many times do we intentionally reflect on our blessings? If we literally count our blessings, past and present, we will be counting for days... even in the midst of Covid and all the craziness and difficulty of this year!
We should not just praise and offer thanksgiving when there is a reason to do so. It is easy to give thanks and praise if we have a reason. But then it is not a sacrifice. We should, of course, offer up praise and thanksgiving at all times, being mindful to thank God for all the blessings in our lives and for the favor He has shown us.
In fact, the trouble that you endure has a purpose: in it you are displaying the reality of Jesus to the world in a unique way. The kingdom of God is most clearly shown on earth when we as Christians gratefully suffer present trouble because we see a future weight of glory coming that makes everything this world throws at them as “light momentary afflictions” in comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17).
If we started making a list of blessings we would be quickly enlightened concerning just how good we really have it. There are many things we take for granted because we have an abundance of them, when people in other countries would think they were wealthy if they had them. Clean, fresh water is an example...
Let’s take a moment right now to thank Him for all of the wonderful blessings in our lives. Most of all, we thank You for Your great love and for sending Jesus so we can have a relationship with You. Help me to always have an attitude of thanks and focus on the good things You are doing in my life.
Amen!
