Thanksgiving and the Sovereignty of God

Many of us will sit around this Thanksgiving and share what we are most thankful for over the last year. It is a good time to reflect. We will thank God for family, for time, for experiences for opportunities and for the blessings of provision. We may express thankfulness for safety and/or healing. But in light of the Biblical teaching on the Sovereignty of God over the events of our lives, I challenge you (and by speaking this out loud, or at least in writing . . . myself) to expand our offerings of thanksgiving.

If God is sovereign (I believe He is AND it brings me no peace removing that attribute from Him) then there are a whole lot of things that I must be thankful for. I will be thankful for the unique challenges I and my family will face in the first half of 2011, because they will make us, like never before, depend on Him. I am thankful for the mistakes I have made, because they have reminded me of my own sinfulness and more importantly, the Grace that God has afforded me through His Son Jesus Christ. While I am thankful for the lives of the grandmothers that I lost this year, I am also thankful for their deaths. I must admit, that I feel bad even saying this, but I am reminded that God’s Word tells me in Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Since I believe that God’s timing is perfect and that they are in His presence right now, what is there not to be thankful for?

I think we have, over the years, taught ourselves to be thankful only for the pleasant things. However, Paul tells us in First Thessalonians 5:16-18 to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (If you are searching for God’s will for your life, start here!!)

I am challenging myself (and you) to truly express your thankfulness to God for ALL His blessings, those that are pleasant and those that are not so pleasant.