Thanksgiving Lesson from the Israelites

Happy Thanksgiving week to everyone! I can't believe it's that time of year again. I have really got to get started Christmas shopping!!! Just a few weeks aways!

I just wanted to share my thankful list, for my own benefit mainly, but maybe it will inspire you to make a thankful list too. As we learned in church this morning, thankfulness is a big deal to God. Think of the Israelites who were on the verge of entering the Promised Land and who constantly grumbled and griped. They were sent to wander in the desert for 40 years. I'd say it's a pretty big deal indeed. Thankful hearts are hard to come by in this day and age. We always want more and more and more...better cars, bigger houses, fancier clothes, connections to the right people so we can climb the proverbial ladder in an effort to obtain more wealth, status, power, etc. MORE!! How often do we say Thank You to the One who owns it all? Not nearly enough I would imagine....at least for me.

Our minister encouraged us to not just make a thankful list, but to make a list entitled "It Belongs to Him." Well, if you believe that God is the beginning, middle, and end, you probably would find that everything on that list of things you are thankful for are things that you ultimately had nothing to do with. They were from His hand.

It Belongs to Him:
-My husband, who is head over heels in love with God first, and me and the girls with his whole heart...who works tirelessly to provide for us and take care of us. It belongs to Him...God created Michael and has led his steps to me.
-Grace, my "sweetie-petey" who challenges me and warms my heart all in the same moment...who loves God and Jesus...and who gives the biggest hugs. She belongs to Him...He blessed us with her sweet little life and gives her each and every new breath and day.
-Michaela, my "Mimi-bug" whose charm melts my heart and make me want to pull my hair out all of the same time...who loves blowing kisses and hugging everyone and everything...who loves to cuddle in my lap before bedtime and sleep with her dolly at night. She belongs to God. He created her and gave her to us to raise and love. Without God's blessing, I would never know Mimi-bug.
-Our extended family who loves us and has been so generous to us with their time and love. People in our families led us to the greatest relationship of all, the one to Christ Jesus. How thankful we are. They belong to God.
-I have food in the refrigerator, a roof over my head, a car to get where I need to go, money in the bank, money in my wallet. Every penny we earn may be given to us by employers but ultimately it is from God alone. It all belongs to him.

That is the short version of the list. Wayne also reiterated something this morning that I have learned the hard way. A spirit of thankfulness is often more easy to come by when facing hard times. In our life, I can see this to be so true as I look back on what I jokingly refer to the "Volkswagen" days, when Michael was making great money, I was staying home with Grace, and we were very comfortable in our perfect new little house. I look back and wonder how in the world I ever found anything to complain about. Sadly though, I did. I didn't think they paid Michael enough money. I thought we needed more. And, even though it is embarrassing to admit this, I certainly was not thankful to God....I was proud of us for making such good money. Again my Bible with the notes I took this morning is in the other room so this won't be word for word, but a spirit of unthankfulness often says, "I did this. I deserve this." There was a definite attitude of self-sufficiency.

Then Volkswagen sold out and Michael went to work for another car company. Where before I thought Michael was being cheated out of money, I learned what it really meant to be cheated out of money. After months of not making what he was promised, we were struggling. There was no more self-sufficiency in my heart. It was a complete 180 and we found ourselves completely dependent on God alone. No one likes to struggle, but looking back at that season, I don't know if I would trade it in for the world for how close I grew to Jesus in that time. And thankfulness....you are thankful for everything when you aren't comfortable!

In our current economy, it is so easy to get wrapped up in money. And, yes, it is scary and tragic what people are going through...I am not minimizing it, but we must be so careful to not place our faith in money (or any other thing). You cannot bow to money and God at the same time. It isn't possible. We are still by no means comfortable...and won't be until Michael graduates in a couple of weeks and gets settled back into a full time job somewhere and even then we are going to have to spend some major time rebounding, but I look back over the past couple of years and thank God for what He has brought us through. I would rather have absolutely nothing in my bank account and a thankful heart dependant on God than savings, investments, retirement, etc. and a unthankful heart dependant on myself.

God owns everything in heaven and earth and every good and wonderful thing that we have...every bite of food, every luxury we possess, every piece of clothing, every person in our lives, the very breath we take...it is all His. So, join me in acknowledging it. Maybe you are struggling this Thanksgiving...can't make ends meet, wondering what you are going to fix for dinner tomorrow out of the bare refrigerator, wondering if the car is going to start in the morning...try to see your current situation as a way to bring you closer to God. Maybe you are on the other end...you pay your bills every month, have enough left over to invest and play, etc. Guard your hearts from depending too much on yourself and not enough on God. Don't forget to say thank you to the one who has given it all to you.

Lord, please help me not to be like the Israelites who couldn't see the journey as a blessing...who forgot the trials you brought them up out of. You brought them out of captivity, across the Red Sea. You fed them with manna from heaven and they still found reason to complain. They lost perspective when they saw the people inhabiting the land between them and the place you had prepared for them. They saw their enemy's strength instead of Your strength. They were blind Father, as I have been blind so many times in my own life. Give me fresh eyes to see the blessing you have showered upon me. Thank you Father for all you have done for me...all that you are doing for me and in me. I never want to be wandering in the desert because of my own grumbling spirit so please drive out any hint of a critical or grumbling spirit and let me lean wholly on you as I journey to the place you have prepared for me. You raised me out of captivity and have brought me through trials and temptations. You have provided for me manna from heaven in so many different forms. Let me recognize the blessings for what they are. Thank you, thank you, thank you.