Did we think we’d make it this far? We’ll we made it -- perhaps a little worse for the wear – but we’re here! We have arrived at the month of the year which culminates in the national holiday of Thanksgiving. Though we are still in the midst of a pandemic – the election season is still going strong and it seems that everywhere we turn some new tragic event of traumatic circumstance surfaces. We feel as if we are in the middle of reciting the psalms of lament rather than gearing up to focus on what we have for which we should be thankful.
The truth is that even in the psalms of lament we are encouraged to look to God as the source of our salvation, our help, our strength and our restoration. We pray these psalms because we expect God to come to our aid – not the reverse!
Has this not been true with the church itself? We have been able to keep the doors open and provide a place of solace and strength for those who can to come and worship. We have had several projects we have been able to complete at the church – which though small – have still shown our people that we are active and still operating. We have provided vibrant and lively worship services both for our people and for those who watch us online. We are starting Sunday School again this Sunday and by November 8th will begin having live organ music in the church once more.
This month as we travel toward the end of the church year (November 22) and prepare for Thanksgiving, let us spend some time in introspection – remembering all that our gracious God has done for us over the past year and with grateful hearts be comforted by the fact that we are His children – the sheep of His pasture – and that He does indeed take care of us.
The adversities we have faced, the challenges we have struggled through, the difficulties we have overcome during this past year have all been evidence of His steadfast love for us. All of this has been at the hand of a loving Heavenly Father Who has not left us orphans.
A point I try to make to benefit those who look at issues with a “glass half empty” attitude is that for a Christian, the glass is neither half-empty nor half-full. It is “being filled.” Psalm 23 reminds us that our cup overflows and we are in the process of having this. Let us rejoice and be glad – thankful that we are constantly and regularly blessed – for He prepares a table for us in the face of our enemies and surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.
תגובות