We recently went through an election season, a time which stresses many people out. Many of us are enduring difficult emotional, or health, or financial times And yet, Thanksgiving Day is coming upon us. How can we be thankful in difficult circumstances?
Pastor Mike submitted the following thoughts for the November 2024 issue of our church newsletter, Steeple Notes.
Sometimes when we think of the question, “What is God’s will for my life?” This could be a distressing time for us all and our thoughts of what to do. We can easily become overwhelmed because we are thinking of things to do, rather than people to become.
This passage is a beautiful example from Paul on what God’s is will for our life. Sometimes it is not so confusing, God’s will is that we are joyful, prayerful and are thankful people in all circumstances. It sure would be easier if Paul said, “be thankful in some circumstances,” but Paul pushes us to be thankful in everything. We can trust that Paul is saying this out of experience, for in Philippians 4:12 he tells us that he learned to be content in every circumstance whether “well fed or in need.”
Thanksgiving is around the corner and we are to be thankful for not only moral reasons, but for spiritual reasons as well. Let us be people of thanksgiving for Jesus has blessed us with salvation and a home in glory that cannot be taken away. Let us be thankful for this is God’s will.
Maybe you are having a hard season and this devotion is just irritating you? First, and foremost, I am truly sorry for what you are going through. This world has so many ditches and holes in the road and we all fall into one at some point. What has given me hope in the midst of pain?
First, God will never leave me. I am not alone and he is walking this path with me. Secondly, Psalm 34:18 says that “God is near the broken-hearted.” This is a broken world full of broken people and it effects one another. God did not want these things to happen and he cries with us. God is broken over your hurt and one day he will make it right.
This does not take away the pain or the problems but always has given me peace and hope. God’s will for us is to be joyful, to pray and always be thankful. May your Thanksgiving be filled with hope and joy.
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