Never Far Away
Happy Thanksgiving! This is a week I anticipate every year as Thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday. Don’t get me wrong, I love everything Christmas, but it’s the simplicity of Thanksgiving that warms my heart. It’s a day designed for pausing and reflecting, something difficult to do in our fast-paced world.
Recently, I was having a conversation with a few young men from our local hockey team. There are significant benefits to being a professional athlete, but it’s hard to appreciate the grind without seeing behind the scenes. As we visited, the conversation revolved around the speed of life and the difficulty of staying present in the moment. The minor league level is so tough because these guys can be traded or cut on any given day. They carry a lot of weight having embraced professional sports as a lifestyle while knowing that that lifestyle can be gone in an instant.
As we continued in conversation, Philippians 4:6-7 came to mind. It’s a go-to verse that I often recite when the cares of the world press in.
6Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
I didn’t suggest this verse in a trite way. I simply suggested that there are two words in these verses that unlock something very beautiful, and they are with thanksgiving. How do we go to God with our worries and walk away with His peace? We pray. That’s certainly true, but there’s more to it than sitting quietly before the Lord and rattling off our list of requests. We pray and we petition with thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a core practice of the faith because thanksgiving gives us a proper perspective. Thanksgiving helps us stay present in the moment. Thanksgiving helps us to see that even in the challenge, God’s blessings abound. Thanksgiving reminds us that when the dishwasher leaks, we’re blessed to have indoor plumbing. Thanksgiving reminds us that when we get cut from the team, we’ve been blessed with abilities and experiences that very few have.
My hypothesis today is that even in the challenges of life, there are blessings not far away. With thanksgiving is God’s gentle way of granting us a perspective shift to see things clearly. As the anxiety builds, we take that concern before the Lord, with thanksgiving, believing that He is a good and gracious God that surrounds us with His favor.
Hard things happen over the course of a life. We’re all brought to our knees at some point. But even painful circumstances correlate with the measure by which we love or are loved. Blessing and pain inextricably and mysteriously intertwined. With thanksgiving has a way of revealing the blessing.
How things will work together for the good is an important question. It’s a question that God will answer in due time. Our question to answer is what to do in the liminal space? May I suggest that we take a few moments to give thanks? When we pause and reflect, we notice so much has already worked together for the good. Thanksgiving grounds us in the moment, but even better, in the God who is faithful.