Tuesday, November 22, 2016

THANK YOU, LORD, FOR YOUR BLESSINGS ON ME

The old gospel song says “I know not what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future”…..and so, it goes.  There is absolute Truth in that statement with Jesus Himself instructing us to not worry about tomorrow because Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34b)

Living Life in the moment is where it is at…simply because this is literally ALL we have! Each breath we take is not our own. We are allowed to stand downright upright on this here planet called Earth, because of the Grace, Mercy and Love of God.  Living on borrowed time should really spur us to gratitude, tremendous gratitude because we are just not our own. Even those who do not believe in the God of heaven – Yahweh – have the Law of God written on their hearts.  They may live like He is not their God, but His indelible signature embedded on their souls tell us otherwise. On that Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, all will be revealed and sorted out. But for today, we who are being saved, have so much to be humbled in thanksgiving.

I remember a very rare time where a small measure of self-pity suddenly washed over me and just as quickly, the Lord reminded me of how fortunate and blessed I am to have even the simplest blessing in life. He did it in the form of a song, by of all things, a country station playing a song by Montgomery Gentry called "Lucky Man". It reminds me of how God has been not just to me, personally but just about everyone who lives in western democracies and can move around freely, eat until full and dress with clean clothes while driving a nice car.

It brings to mind the following Psalm of Thanksgiving, in part, from a man after God's own heart - King David:
I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul......(Psalm 138:1-3, NASB)

When have we not called out to the Lord and He did not answer? He is Yahweh Jireh, the Lord Who provideth good things to His Children. The earthly half-brother of Jesus reminds us in James 1:17 that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning". 

The perfect gift could be the roof over your head, when you were worried you had no place to rest your head. It may be the check which showed up in the mail to buy that full tank of gas, so we can go to work next week. It may be the invitation to dinner from the nice older couple at church, just when you were tired of eating leftover meatloaf three days in a row. There is no shifting or waffling with our Heavenly Father - Abba, Who loves us greatly. He is as fixed as the North Star and never changes. Because He is immutable (I, the Lord, do not change - Malachi 3:6a), He can be trusted. Therefore, His promises can be relied on. He gives and gives and then gives some more. We are alive and well today, because He gives....and because He lives. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow.

So, we are thankful and oh so grateful to You, oh God. Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me.
   

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