God has abundantly blessed us with all the we have, and I have much to be thankful for: my health, my family, a job, a home, food, clothes, a car, friends, free time, a computer, and so much more. In these uncertain economic times, we are faced with real choices. For some the choice can be as simple as not dining out or what stores we shop at, for others it can mean which bills get paid and which don't, for others it can mean feeding our children or filling our car with gas. The times we are living in can cause us to focus on all the things we don't have and miss all that we are blessed with; this too is a choice.
In the midst of difficult times we are also faced with a critical spiritual choice: will we be filled with fear or faith? Will we allow our lives to be consumed with fears about our future, doubts about whether we will ever recover, and anxiety about what lies ahead? Or will we move forward confidently knowing that God has brought us all that we have and will continue to provide for us. To live in fear is to live as though it all depends on you. To live in faith acknowledges that God is in control. What will we choose? Who do we believe is in charge?
A true key to living a life of faith is understanding thanksgiving. To be thankful means we acknowledge the gifts we have been given, we acknowledge that we are not the source of all things, we acknowledge the Lord has been good to us. If we want to move from fear to faith then Thanksgiving has to go from being a day to a way. We must move toward living a life of thanksliving. When we no longer feel the burden of meeting all of our needs, when we acknowledge God as the source, when we remember how faithfully God has provided for us throughout our lives, we are on the way to thanksliving. We are moving from fear to faith.
The apostle Paul understood the power of thanksliving, he understood what it meant to live a life of faith. As he doggedly shared the gospel with all he met, he endured great pain and suffering. Paul was ridiculed, shamed, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and ultimately killed for sharing his faith. Throughout all of his trials and tribulations Paul continually modeled faithful living, he showed us thanksliving. At the end of his life, while in prison, Paul wrote to one the churches he helped establish in Philippi. He wrote to them a letter of encouragement and thanks. He wrote in the midst of great personal suffering and with the knowledge that he would soon be executed.
I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:10-13
Paul learned the secret of thanksliving: to be content with whatever he had. Paul understood in a profound and real way that no matter what his circumstances, God was with him and providing for his every need. As we enter into the time of Thanksgiving, may we all be blessed to know contentment in the Lord and to live a life of thanksliving.
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