Monday, November 21, 2011
Deuteronomy 8:10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.
LORD, TEACH US TO GIVE THANKS DURING THE GOOD TIMES
While the Children of Israel were in the wilderness, God provided for them in miraculous ways. He caused water to come out of a rock. He invented a new food for them. Every day (except for the Sabbath) they would wake up and find a sweet bread, which they called manna, on the ground. He caused quail to come, and so provided them meat. Their clothes and shoes did not wear out on their journey.
Like the children of Israel, we have been abundantly blessed. The land in which we live is able to produce enough food for the millions that live here and for those in other parts of the world. We also have tremendous freedom here. The rights and privileges that we enjoy as citizens of the United States are unheard of in many parts of the world.
Above all you have been spiritually blessed. God has given you an understanding of sin and grace. He has taken what is foolishness to your nature, and allowed you to see it as His wisdom. God has shown you that without Him you are a miserable, damned sinner, but through His grace and the work of Jesus on the cross you are His children.
Give thanks? It sure makes sense when you consider everything that God has given us. He is the source of all of blessings. Yet it is a unique challenge for a person's gratitude to match his prosperity, no matter what the level of prosperity is. We tend to take credit for the good and blame God for the bad. As our nation pauses to give thanks, we Christians can take the lead in recognizing the goodness of the Lord, rightly defining His mercy as the cause of any reason to celebrate.
