Thanksgiving is Coming!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Thanksgiving is coming! At my house, before the turkey and the mashed potatoes and the green bean casserole and the stuffing – can’t forget the stuffing – we have a tradition of sharing one-by-one what we are thankful for in our

Thanksgiving devotion. Each of us list family and friends and many blessings from God.
But here is really something to be thankful for!

How many stars are there in the sky? Who can count them?
God created and knows each of them.

How many different kinds of animals in the forests and deserts and oceans?

We have not come to the end of discovering them all, but God has created each one in its unique way.

Nor has God been less meticulous with us, for, even though all humans have the same body structure, a face with nose, eyes, and mouth, and all our various parts, yet each of us is uniquely different from another.

Not only has God created each of us, He knows us intimately and cares about every facet of our lives and activities. David, the psalmist, wrote about this characteristic of God in Psalm 139:

“0 Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.”

Here is really something to be thankful for!

The Creator of the universe cares so much about you that He searches your heart and mind in order that He might know you! We talk about our need and desire to know God; have you ever thanked Him that He wants to know you?

Are you thankful that you can never get away from God? That He knows when you sit, when you stand, when you go somewhere, and even when you lie down to go to sleep at night?

We can never get away from God. Should we ascend to the clouds or descend to the depths of the ocean, we would not go there alone (Psalm 139:8). God loves us so much that His presence is with us wherever we are. Yes, even when we do not feel, know, or sense it! He is there!

Like the three-year old who stamps his little foot in defiance when his parents make him go to bed when he needs rest, and like the rebellious teen who believes his parents are out to control him, we do not always recognize all that God gives us and does for us and, yes, even demands of us, is for our good because He loves us.

Sometimes we, too, stamp our feet and shout at God in defiance, while we should be thanking Him for His presence,
for His constant care,
for His love that will not let go of us.

Tenderly He forgives our waywardness, restoring us again to His presence, giving us ever more cause for gratitude. This year, I will thank God that He desires to know me. Thanks be to God!

May your thankfulness for all God had done for you overflow this Thanksgiving!

Pastor Hartwig