So, do you feel blessed?
In this season of Thanksgiving, in spite of the election, and in spite of COVID, do you sense that in some way that God has blessed you?
Are you planning to take time to gather with the ones you love and celebrate the grace God has surrounded you with, the blessings material and otherwise, the relationships with family and friends near and far, which have sustained you over the last year?
Some of you know that old hymn “Count your blessings”.
It goes like this:
When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.
It seems to me, that one of the great blessings of the Thanksgiving season is our counting and recounting of the blessings. Seeing them. Naming them. Sharing them.
To see objectively what is happening in our lives, not from the point of view of our trials and troubles, misgivings and issues, but from the observatory of what God has done on our behalf. What God has done, not only blessing us with needs met, but also blessing us with opportunities – to be a blessing to others!
Someone said recently that the challenge in life is to see your glass as half full, not half empty. Someone else noted with a bit of irony, that perhaps we should also notice that we have a glass, and perhaps, something to put in it!
And that seems to be what is happening in the early church community in Jerusalem after Peter and John’s release from prison. The community is seeing God at work and feeling amazingly blessed.
It is as if they now understand that God can provide in all kinds of situations, and that they don’t need to worry about going without, because as fast as they are giving what God has given them away, God is busy refilling their cups.
I have shared this before but one of the great gratitude stories I have heard is the one Carolee Union shared at one of our church retreats. Carolee unfortunately has since passed away, going on to her great reward, but before she did, what a blessing she was for us.
She told us of her gratitude journal, a book she created to force herself to look and see what God was doing to bless her, even when she was not paying attention, or when she felt just overwhelmed by life.
She said that one morning she sat at her table and was just struggling with no idea what to write in the gratitude book. And then a beautiful cardinal came and sat on her window sill, and so she opened her Gratitude Journal and wrote: “Thank you today for the gift of that beautiful red blessing!”
And as her mind turned more and more towards gratitude, little blessings became more obvious and then were added to the book.
Do you feel blessed?
Sometimes when we are struggling with life, in a true wrestling match with illness or jobs or a lack of income or family issues or even addiction, we just don’t see what God is doing on our behalf!
We don’t see how God is suppling our needs, including our NEED to be generous.
You heard me, didn’t you?
We don’t see how God is supplying our needs, including that essential spiritual NEED to be generous.
We as God’s children, need, right down deep in the center of our souls, in the center of our spirit, in the center of the Holy Spirit’s presence in us, to be generous!
That’s what was happening in Jerusalem!
The children of God were mimicking their Lord and Savior, using all that God had given them, to take care of God’s people, just as God had been doing for them.
Mimicking is how children learn. We all know that.
Lately our grandson Noah has been taking sticks and plastic hangers and whatever he can find and making chainsaw noises, because he saw his father put on the chaps and goggles and ear protection and cut up logs up at the cottage at Loon Lake.
Noah even found a strap of some kind and hung it over his ears as ear protection as he cut up all those imaginary logs! As Rachel said on Friday, “I never thought I would tell my toddler, ‘let’s go upstairs to play with your chainsaws before bed!’”
Because he is mimicking what he has seen his father do, just as these folks in Jerusalem as now mimicking what they have seen their Heavenly Father do for them - use his resources to take care of the least of these.
Even Barnabus, the son of encouragement, jumps in to do what he can, and sells a piece of land so that the folks who need a blessing have a blessing, and becomes himself a conduit of God’s love.
It is often said that the Dead Sea is dead, because everything flows into it, but nothing flows out of it. So, if you are feeling a bit dead inside, consider all the ways you could take your many blessings and share them with others.
The opportunities are endless!
Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, Thanksgiving Baskets, and food for the backpacks we take to the Otisville Elementary School to help some children who need a breakfast and lunch on the weekend.
We can send a card to someone who we know needs a blessing, we could make that phone call, or stop by and visit with an old friend socially distanced.
Taking some of the Holy Spirit’s energy in us and volunteer at the food pantry or offer to come up to the church and organize some of the stuff we have accumulated and not used for 6 months.
You see, as our faith grows, our need to control our destiny through wealth slips away. Then it is replaced by first, a desire to relieve the suffering of others and second, a desire to grow the Christian community through the resources God has blessed us with!
So, do you feel blessed?
If so, what are you doing with your blessings?
Use them to bless others!
In Jesus name! Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment