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"For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 4:15)
As we are all stumbling through our lives we often find that we are also grumbling as well. It is I suppose a natural response to the way things seem to work out a lot of times that we become quick to grumble. I find that for myself that grumbling comes quite often. I find that hard to admit, as I have always considered myself to be an optimist rather than a pessimist. Do I so easily fall out of my character or is it a natural way that people are. I don’t know and you will have to answer that question. I am seldom stressed yet I am quick to bemoan the trials that come into my day. I even, though I know better, wonder why God has allowed these things to happen to me.
In truth, I am not much different than other folks in this situation of events. All day long I overhear folks complaining about this and that and many come to the same conclusion as I in fault do, “why has God allowed this to happen to me?” I know that we are all victims of our own circumstance because we are in a world that is cursed by our own misadventures. The world once was in harmony with its Creator as all lived and existed in the will of God. Then our great-grandparents fell from the will of God and violated His Word. As a result, man and creation were cursed and to this day longs for when Christ the King of kings comes to establish His physical Kingdom here and restore righteous life.
But we know when we count up our blessings and name them one by one they are far greater than the trials that we suffer through. And we know that God our Creator is the founder of all knowledge and has the wisdom to execute His will perfectly. We know that God our Creator is a God of love and has an unstoppable love for His creation and in His longsuffering has shown His mercy towards mankind by withholding His wrath. And by His loving kindness through His wisdom can turn all the trials we face and cause the conclusion to work out for our good. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) As I look back over the times I know that God has proven Himself time and again, which has strengthened my faith in His promises.
In this season of feasting from the many blessings that the Lord has given to our lives, it is, of course, one of my favorite holidays. How can I not sit down with the family and not drool at the clove ham, the moist Turkey, string bean casserole, and stuffing made from baked bread and small green stuff I suspect to be celery. Buttermilk biscuits, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, and apple cider. And I cannot forget the two pieces of my favorite pie, apple, and pumpkin.
After this feast, we all secretly loosen a notch of the belt and speak of the things that we are thankful for over the past year. We, of course, are thankful for many prayers that the Lord has answered in a favorable way to our own will. And as we speak of the prayers that we not answered as we thought they should we come to realize that they were answered in the best way for each of us. There are the possessions that we have been granted over the year, that new set of tires for the car, the new air conditioner that replaced the one that quite, that raise in income that keeps us afloat in the midst of our debt, and the ability to afford these things without drowning in the red line of the checking account.
We sit around in the parlor and fight off the sleepy eye a big temptation after a gluttonous meal. We speak of the family and how thankful that they are all doing well and are healthy. The many friends that the Lord has brought into our lives and how thankful we are to have such good company amongst us. The roof over our head that again throughout the year keeps the elements out of the home. Certainly, we are thankful for the work we dread returning to each Monday that sustains us and is a means of keeping the home fires burning.
What would all these marvelous things be if the Lord did not create that day in which we live? I am told that there are about eight billion people living on the earth and that means that the Lord creates eight billion days individually for each living soul. My day is not like your day and it is a different day than any other’s day. In fact, I have never had a day that was like this one or any other day that I have ever had. A God so big and wonderful that He creates a special day for everyone living on this earth. He gives them a rhythm of heartbeats and fills their lungs with breath. I am most certainly thankful for that.
As I look over the past year since last Thanksgiving I think I am most thankful for God’s grace towards us all. God’s unmerited favor to mankind and His creation. When I think about it none of this would be or continue to be if it were not for the grace of God. "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:17)
First I am thankful for God’s common grace. It is His sovereign grace that God shows upon all of mankind regardless of their acceptance or rejection of Him. God has always shown His grace on all people in all parts of the world throughout all time.
"The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works." (Psalm 145:9) When it serves His purpose even if we are not serving Him by His grace God restrains sin in the individuals and in society. This graceful act of God is recorded in the Bible as far back as Genesis. Moses traveled to Egypt with his wife Sarah but was afraid that the Pharaoh there would take his wife for his own. God restrained Pharaoh from committing that sin. "Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her." (Genesis 20:6) God through His common grace will cause civic righteousness even to those in a society that is unrighteous. There are many times in history that we have seen sinful people do the good deeds of righteousness. "For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves." (Romans 2:14)
I am, of course, most thankful for God’s saving grace. A saving grace is the unmerited divine assistance given to humankind in the regeneration and sanctification that moves our life into the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ. We the undeserving because of our sin nature receive His saving grace that we can become as He is. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17) I am ever mindful of a song I learned at Maranatha Bible conference in Muskegon Michigan called “Thank You, Lord.” “Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul Thank you, Lord, for making me whole Thank you, Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free.”
I am also thankful for His grace in the ministry of His gospel. Without His grace, I would not be able to have an effective ministry for Him. As long as I obey, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." (John 15:4) I will praise, honor, and worship Him in His ministry through me. "Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ." (Ephesians 3:7-8)
This world is never about a man who is here only for a season and then goes on to eternity. It is never about this world which too shall pass away. It is all about Jesus as He was in the beginning and will be in the end. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Revelation 22:13) For it is about us being in Jesus our Lord and Savior that through Him living in us we can bring glory to His name and glory to the Heavenly Father. "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)
Thomas N Kirkpatrick
First Baptist Church of Durant, November 20, 2018
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