Hip Homiletics

Giving Thanks…even when life’s difficult

For some, Thanksgiving is a great day. You have so much to be thankful for in life. You might look at the birth of a child, making new friends, finding a new job, paying your bills, and physical health.

However, for others, this Thanksgiving is accompanied with much grief. For some, this past year has been the most difficult year of your life. Your health or the health of a loved one failed. You’ve experienced the sorrow of death of someone you loved. Financially, you’ve been struggling living paycheck to paycheck. Relationships have been severed between you and a sibling, you and a child, you and a once close friend. For many of our sorrows, we know that things, simply put, won’t ever be the same.

 
So how do we approach this day with a Thankful heart?

Psalm 100 is a precious Psalm. It says,

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

We see that we can be thankful for the precious invitation given to us to worship God. 7 times we’re called to worship God in the first 4 verses. That the God of the universe would delight in your worship of Him is reason for giving thanks today.

 We also see that God has given you a precious identity. Many of us feel as if we no longer know who we are. The trials of life have left us feeling as if we have no identity. Begin by looking at the Lord. He is God. He, the mighty, holy, and great God…the only true God, finds pleasure in calling you His. If you’ve turned your life to the God of the Bible by trusting in Jesus as the forgiver of your sins and the one who gives you life, You are His. You are one of His people! You are as a sheep, and the Lord is your Shepherd. A Shepherd feeds the sheep, mends the wounds, leads the sheep to water, and protects it from wolves. Bank on this identity. You are His. This is something to be thankful for this day.

Lastly, we see God’s unchanging character and cannot help but be thankful. We come to God, as His child, in joyful praise because of who God is. He is good. He is loving. He is faithful. As a good, loving, and faithful God he cares for you certainly through various blessings, but also through testing and discipline. The testing of your faith will strengthen you as you turn to God. God is also faithful to discipline us when we go astray. What loving father does not discipline his child?

Is God being self-centered and egotistical? Some say this when we think that God wants our affections and wants us to worship Him. We must remember that the the best place to be is in God’s presence in worship. He knows this. And He invites us to this place. No, he is not selfish, but He is good. The fact that He would want this for us is a wondrous expression of his goodness, his lovingkindness, and his faithfulness to us His people.

So today, no matter how difficult your external circumstances are, you have reason to be thankful.

I thank you God, that you would even invite me to sing your praises…I don’t deserve this privilege

I thank you God, that you say  I belong to you

I thank you God, that your character doesn’t change

I thank you God, that you know that in your presence I am whole/complete…and you invite me to that place.

I thank you God, that even through trials, you are there

I thank you God, that you discipline those you love

I thank you God, that your love knows no bounds

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever and His faithfulness to all generations!