Happy Thanksgiving!
I can’t believe it’s already Thanksgiving 2016. It seems as though this year has flown by, or time is getting shorter — I don’t really know which is the case. Regardless, despite all that’s happened this year thus far, I can honestly say I’m more aware of what I need to be thankful for than ever. That might sound like an odd thing to admit, but God’s goodness and grace to me are more apparent than I can remember. And isn’t that just how God works? He takes you deeper and deeper into his grace, causing you to realize that its expanse is farther and wider than you ever thought possible. God brings you close by his grace to reveal all that he is. I can’t give a good reason why this truth is more evident than in prior years. Perhaps it’s just I’m more aware of how much I need him than ever. Not that I’m old now, but in my “younger days,” I was surely more self-confident, boasting in my own deftness and discipline instead of resting in God’s deliverance. This year, this Thanksgiving, however, I’m making Psalm 95 my anthem. I’m resting on my Rock of Salvation and banking on grace to keep and hold me.
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all God’s. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. (Ps. 95:1–7)
God is an all-wise, all-powerful God, knowing the end from the beginning. And even though I often doubt, who am I to question his ways? Even as ministry opportunities have come and gone, he knew what he was doing. Even as he took my grandfather home, he knew what he was doing. And as 2017 approaches, promising new delights, new opportunities, new blessings, and new challenges, he knows what he’s doing. And throughout it all, he is good.
This year, I’m most thankful for the upcoming birth of my daughter, Lydia Ann! Both Natalie and I are beyond excited to be blessed with little. She’s expected to enter our world on February 5, 2017. I can’t wait to meet her, hold her, and look into her eyes for the first time. With that in mind, what are you thankful for? Would love to hear a Thanksgiving story or two of what God’s been doing for, in, and through you. And from myself, Natalie, Lydia, and Chloe (our German shepherd), we wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!
May the Lord bless you and protect you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace. (Num. 6:24–26)