I was born at the tail end of the baby-boom. We were a cheerful bunch. I grew up hearing expressions like “If life hands you lemons, make lemonade” and “Every dark cloud has a silver lining.” The Vietnam war, the civil unrest of the 60’s (which gave way to the unrest in the Middle East), and the gas shortages here in the 70’s, caused life to seem a little grimmer. Each decade has had its crisis (space shuttles and twin towers) and with each crisis we’ve come to realize that lemonade is harder to come by.
Christians in America had to grow up from thinking like Pollyanna to thinking like Job; “though He slay me yet will I trust Him.” As a result the herd thinned a bit. We were warned. Abraham Lincoln, in his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation, quoted Moses from Deuteronomy 8, reminding Americans that if they took for granted their blessings, they would stop thanking God, and He would stop blessing.
Beloved, life IS hard. Bad things ARE happening. But we are STILL blessed and STILL have much to be thankful for. Let’s never be parsimonious in our praise or thrifty in our thanksgiving.
He is Worthy!
Happy Thanks Giving Week
Pastor Scott
Grace Notes 