Honor Him With Thanksgiving

I invite you this Thanksgiving to honor Him with thanksgiving. We’ve briefly looked at some of the gifts of God for which we can be thankful, but I would like to share a list I found in preparation for this message that reminds me of so many of the small things I often over look for which I can give God thanksgiving and praise:

“I AM THANKFUL . . .

“. . .for the taxes that I pay because it means that I am employed.

“. . .for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

“. . .for the clothes that fit a little tot snug because it means I have enough to eat.

“. . .for a law that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

“. . .for all the complaining I hear about the government because it means we have freedom of speech.

“. . .for the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

“. . .for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.

“. . .for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive.

“. . . for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I am alive” [http://www.geocities.com/Heartland?Farm/7478/iamthank.htm].

I would add some personal ones of my own to that list: (1.) I am thankful for the men and women in the United States military who are fighting against terrorism and for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. (2.) I am thankful for a President who is committed to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (3.) I am thankful the Lord gave us guardianship over Sheila. (4.) I am thankful that God still answers prayers even when the answer often is delayed. (5.) A Church family that loves unconditionally, both those that are believers and those yet to make their commitment to Jesus Christ, and prayer persistently for the hurts and needs of others.

Sometimes we find ourselves in similar situations to Daniels in Daniel Chapter ten. Daniel had been in earnest prayer for three entire weeks when a Man appeared to him, whom I believe was a vision of Jesus Himself. We are given His description in verses five and six: “I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure fold of Uphaz. His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming touches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.”

Then in verses twelve and thirteen the man explains the delay in the answer to Daniel’s prayers: “Then he said to me, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.” Sometimes our answers may be delayed much longer than twenty-one days, but God is faithful in answering the prayers of His people who “set their hearts to understanding and humble themselves before Him,” and for this I am thankful and praise His Name.