Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! I wish you all happy Thanksgiving!
We are grateful to God for His blessings in our lives. He continues His care for us by sending us all things necessary for life and godliness!
Apostle Paul was a person of “thanksgiving”. Even while being in difficult circumstances, he was able to say the following: “But godliness is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment”. 1 Tim. 6:6
A heart full of thankfulness, and the ability to express it to God and to those around them is a sign of Christian maturity. Do we thank God for the trivial and insignificant things in our lives? Do we notice them or take them for granted, only to start appreciating them when they are taken from us?
Recently, over the course of a short time a beautiful town of Paradise, California was burned down. The city of Paradise turned into ashes…
As a result of this, many people lost their homes and everything that they owned. How often do we thank God for our homes in which we live in? Some people lost their lives. How often do we thank God for another day that was given to us? In addition, as a result of these fires, the smoke filled the air, and it became difficult to breathe in cities around these fires. How often do we thank God for clean air that we regularly breathe?
Prophet Habakkuk was not questioning the goodness of God in his circumstances. Even during difficulties and trials, and allowing for the possibility of losing material well-being, the prophet was confident in God, and trusted in Him. He writes down the following words: “Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17-18
During this season when the people of the United States celebrate Thanksgiving, may we find many reasons to be thankful to God and to men! May we not be stingy for good words and may we express our gratitude to God and to each other!
Ivan Mileyev
