I had a great time with my family on Thanksgiving. We ate and played for two days. The festivities were fun, and I enjoyed my holiday. But I was reminded that Thanksgiving is a time to thank God for all His blessings. I know this and believe this, but sometimes during the chaotic celebration, I forget to do the most important thing. In this case, be thankful.

I taught a lesson on being thankful just the week before. I still needed to work on doing it over the holiday. Maybe I struggled because it wasn’t a good lesson, so it wasn’t easy to apply. It was too broad and covered too many aspects of a thankful attitude. When I got home from Bible study, I kept thinking about it and meditating on it. The Lord helped me to narrow my focus. Now, almost a week after Thanksgiving, I have my lesson, for this year, on giving thanks.

George Washington made a thanksgiving proclamation designating a national day of thanksgiving. It was to be a day to pray and ask God for continued blessing. A theme throughout his declaration was peace and unity. Abraham Lincoln, in 1864, declared a day of thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. The reason was to pray and ask God for “the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land. It seemed that peace and unity were also a theme of his thanksgiving proclamation.

I thought about the Bible verses that discussed thanksgiving. Philippians 4 starts with two women in the church who aren’t getting along. Paul asks them to agree (find unity and peace). Then he gives directions for finding peace. Philippians 4:6 says we should not be anxious but pray and ask God for what we need. But he adds that we should pray “with thanksgiving.” And the next verse says that we will have God’s peace that surpasses understanding. There seems to be a connection between being thankful and being at peace and in unity with others.

My Thanksgiving day was full of fun and went very well. But not everything was peaceful, and there wasn’t perfect unity. A big part of that is I tend to be an anxious person. My mind goes to problems, and the negativity can overwhelm me. I wonder if I had spent more time in “prayer and supplication, giving thanks,” if the “peace of God” would have “guarded my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” What if my insecurities and fears could have been conquered and overcome by my own Thanksgiving day proclamation? That is what I need! I need an everyday thanksgiving day proclamation.

I proclaim on this day that every morning, I will celebrate Thanksgiving. I will “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” And I will let my “reasonableness be known to everyone” (might be hard). “The Lord is at hand.” I will “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let my requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus”. Phil 4:4-7

“I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:32–35 ESV)

Many Christians are single. They are looking for the right person, that special one that God has for them. Some singles are looking to fill a void that was left by someone else. They may be widowed or divorced. Some have never been married. They look forward to the companionship that a life partner brings. They desire to grow old with someone. I can’t blame them. How satisfying it would be to have a live in friend, companion, co-worker, and lover. I have spent many years dreaming of this too!
Isn’t it odd? Paul says, stay unmarried, so you can be free from anxiety. Do you want to have less stress? Stay single! In this way, your focus will be on God and his kingdom rather than on another’s interests. Wait! When you try to integrate two individual lives into one cohesive life, there’s worry, stress and divided interests? Yes! So of course, there will be difficulties!
The fairy tales and romance movies don’t often show the hard work and time it takes to make a relationship work. They don’t often illustrate the difficulty involved in meshing lives. They never show the struggle of balancing spiritual and earthly responsibilities. It can be extremely difficult to serve God and keep up with the demands of a family. It is easy to see how it divides your loyalties.
I think that is why Jesus was not married. He came to earth to do a job for the kingdom of God. It required focus and undivided attention. His travels and early death would have been difficult for a family. Looking back, it seems best that Jesus didn’t have a wife and children. I am sure it wasn’t easy though.
He was in a body of flesh. I am sure that he, like all of us, felt a need for human touch and tenderness. He saw cute couples holding hands. He went to weddings and celebrated with couples who had found companionship and love. He ate in happy homes. He loved children. And yet, Jesus chose to remain single and focus on the purposes that God had for him. He is an example of what Paul was explaining to the Corinthians.
All people are not called to be single. Paul addresses that in the next few verses. But for those that are single, it is an opportunity to serve God unentangled by many of the world’s cares and worries. It frees us to serve God with abandonment. It is a chance to know Jesus better. It may only be for a season of life, but it should be an occasion to celebrate as we allow God to be the lover of our soul.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)

I was driving down the road the other day when I saw pieces of a yellow Big Bird piñata scattered along the way. I thought that it was sad that it was all broken up and a mess. Then it dawned on me. If it was not broken, nobody would have been able to enjoy the contents, the candy!

I thought about this verse from 2 Corinthians. s were traditionally made by decorating a clay pot. And they hold treasure. They hold treasure that someone has put inside. The person that put it inside did not want it to stay there. They intended for it to be shared and enjoyed.

For the treasure to be enjoyed, the clay pot must first be broken. A whole piñata looks pretty but if it isn’t broken to reveal the treasure then it hasn’t fulfilled its purpose. A piñata is created to be destroyed. Only after the piñata is broken and the treasure is revealed does the crowd get excited.

We are clay pots, fragile and easily broken. We are all decorated differently and we work hard to keep looking good on the outside. Our natural inclination is to stay safe and whole, looking good to the world, but we must be willing to be broken. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

God wants to reveal his glory through our lives. Unless we are willing for the old life to be destroyed, we will never fulfill our true purpose. The crowd will only ring out with joy and excitement if the treasure is revealed.

God fills us with good gifts. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). God fills us with hope, joy, and peace. The trials of life break away the facade we carefully built around our clay pot. Then, God breaks off the old papier-mâché and cracked clay pot. This allows the sweet treasure he has filled us with to pour forth and bless everyone around us. The good gifts of God can then be
shared and enjoyed.

Lord, it is painful to give up my pride in my own beauty and strength even though it is only papier-mâché and a clay pot. Brokenness is necessary. I want to reveal your hope, joy and peace to the world. This is the purpose to which You have called me. I will not reveal your goodness or grace if I keep your treasures hidden. Make me brave Lord. Give me the courage to accept the beatings that will break away the outer layers to reveal your hope, joy, and peace inside. Let the crowds ring out in joy and praise because You have poured forth blessings and gifts through me. Let me fulfill the purpose You have called me to, even when it is painful and hard. May all glory go to the one who gives the gifts, the host of the party, You Lord, and you alone.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

This was one of my memory verses from Sunday school. I have had this verse hidden in my heart for many years. And this week the Lord brought it to my remembrance during a comical situation.

Here is the whole embarrassing story. I did not sleep well the other night. I was still very tired when I had to get up and go to work the next morning. I got up and got ready to go. I went to the kitchen to throw together a smoothie to drink on the way, because I didn’t leave myself enough time for breakfast. I didn’t turn the overhead light on. The night light on the microwave was on and I thought that was enough.

I grabbed some strawberries and peaches from the freezer. I got some OJ and yogurt out of the fridge. I put my ingredients in the blender. At the last minute I decided to add some coconut. I grabbed it from the dark pantry. I bet you can see where this is going.

I added the “coconut” and quickly poured my smoothie into cup. I put the lid on and ran out the door. As I started drinking the smoothie on the way to work I noticed that my coconut was really hard and not sweet. I was still so tired and had trouble even thinking through what the problem could have been. I drank the smoothie because I needed breakfast and the hard coconut seemed edible.

I made it through work and came home. I took my cup to the kitchen and put it in the sink. I started to clean up the mess I left from morning. I put the yogurt cup in the recycling and the empty strawberry package in the trash. I picked up the coconut to stick it in the pantry and noticed it was rice! The hard, not sweet coconut was uncooked rice!

I started laughing out loud. How stupid. The rice and coconut were sitting near each other on the shelf, in similarly colored bags, and both were closed with wooden clothespins. I just grabbed the wrong one in the dark. I made a mistake because I couldn’t see. It would have been so easy to prevent, just flip a light switch. I neglected to use the resources and power at my finger tips.

Psalm 119:105 came to my mind. God’s Word lights my way. How many preventable errors do I make because I don’t flip the switch? In the Word of God we find the power that floods our world with light, just follow Jesus. “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). If I walk in the light, follow Jesus, then my life (and smoothies) will be sweeter.

Thank you, Jesus, for using simple things from my day to remind me that you are there and you care about me. Thank you for communicating with me through your Word. Thank you for reminding me that life can be even sweeter as I walk in your light. You are so good. Help me to continually access the power and illumination you have freely provided. Let me walk in the light and not in darkness.