Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

What's that?

I see that look you gave me. . . . 

Yes, the world is broken. And it's messy. Sin is running amok, terrorism is real, and evil has a really good foothold in our world. It's understandable for peeps to be discouraged nowadays.

BUT.

As Christians, we have much to be thankful for. God sent His Son so that the world won't always be broken and messy and hurting. We have an unfailing and unfathomable source of hope that reminds us each day: our life on this earth is not the end, but the beginning.

Today in the United States, we celebrate the annual holiday of Thanksgiving. We may gather with family or with friends, or we may be alone. But in spite of the fact that life can be tough and the world is messed up, God is every bit as faithful as He has been through the ages. He can be counted on. We can be thankful for that!

In "The Valley of Vision," a wonderful collection of prayers from the times of the Puritans, I found this prayer, and I hope it will bless you as it did me:

O My God, Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, for sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;

for the body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

for thy royal bounty providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness, for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others, for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures. Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

 

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!