A Season of Thanks
This is the time of the year when we pause for a moment and
reflect on the good things we have experienced over the past year. It is a time
when we look to envision what the new year may hold and it is a time of year
when we give thanks for what we have.
Past, present and future. For those with insight they are
all held together by the commonality of thanks. For the mistakes of the past
and for our successes we give thanks for what we have learned from them. For
the present difficulties and our joys, we give thanks for being alive and
engaged to experience them. And for the possibilities and the insecurities of
the future that go with them we give you thanks for the past and the present
that have brought us to this point and given us the tools we possess to move
forward.
We live in a blessed country, one where we are free to make
our own choices, choose our own alliances, make our own mistakes and suffer,
but not permanently, our own setbacks. We live in one of the few countries on
the face of the earth that has elevated the value of Life, the character of
Liberty and the freedom to pursue our own happiness. So why then are so many of
us unhappy, unfulfilled, and feeling as though freedom is out of our reach.
Perhaps it is a matter of perspective. Do we look for and expect that all these
things are within our reach? Do we celebrate our failures as much as we
celebrate our successes? Do we accept the responsibility to stand on our own,
but not alone?
If you are struggling with the past, avoiding the present
and not welcoming the future, then perhaps this would be a good time to take in
some wisdom from the past that like the proverbial north star, will allow us to
re-compass our course and set a new path into our future.
King David of Israel, encouraged his people to follow his
lead when the times get difficult or fears press in by saying, “Come let us
worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For He is our
God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that
TODAY you would listen to His voice!”
Worship is intended to make holy the life we are given and to bring us
into the presence of God. It is intended to help us hear with clarity, the
voice of God above the rumble and noise of the world around us. It is intended
to bring us into an attitude of gratitude for the God who has given us all
things, including life itself, and promises to be with us, in good times and in
difficult, in failure and success, in health and in illness, even until time
itself ends. No promises of a life without care, but only of a God who will
care for you, even in the most difficult of times. Why walk alone though life,
why not walk with God and start by walking into worship this holy season.
Rev. Michael VandenBerg
HOPE Church @ the YMCA
No comments:
Post a Comment