What a simple and very complicated statement. Why is this statement so hard for our human minds to understand?
Well, it's simple, really... We think we "know-it-all". We pride ourselves in "knowing things". Admit it. It's true.
The statement is simply put. Give Thanks. The End.
BUT...
The simplicity of this statement Give Thanks to the Lord begins to get a little REALLY complicated when you throw in the for He is good part.
When you think of the word good, what comes to mind?
How do you define having a good day? What do you think of when you say good night?
I don't know about you, but personally, I think of all the opposite of good {BAD} things that could happen. Through my weird reasoning, if none of the 'bad' things happen, then I'd say it's pretty good.
The good we are talking about here, isn't just any old good. We are talking about how good our God is. He is SO good. His goodness is not measurable. Neither is His love or mercy or grace. He is good. All the time. So that's the good we are talking about here. {It's pretty amazing.}
Now, back to the Give Thanks part. "Give Thanks" means for us "to cast stones from our hands". I absolutely love this {thanks for the preachin' Pastor David}. My Pastor explained that if we want to fully experience a relationship with God {the kind of relationship that He desires us to have with Him}, we are to enter into Thanksgiving with empty hands. We are to leave everything at the door, when we bring ourselves before our King, whether that be through prayer, worship, service...
Empty hands, people. Just think, think for a minute all of the things you are "holding onto"... Things that are keeping you from experiencing the fullness of God.
I know for me personally, the things that hold be back are school, busy schedules, technology {yep}, the image in my mind of how I want my life to be... and the list could still go on forever. Pretty full hands I have here.
We are approaching the one year mark when I heard the words, "I have cancer" come out of my Dad's mouth. Wow. When I take myself back to that morning of August 19th, I can remember everything perfectly. I remember having a lazy morning. Emilee had not gone back to school yet, I started the next day, Rhett was in school, Mom was at work, and Dad was waiting for the phone to ring with results from a biopsy. Emilee and I were still in our pajamas, hair on top of our heads, tired faces, something was on TV, but we were eating breakfast and fiddling on our phones...
Dad got the call and stepped outside. I remember him walking back in and saying, "Girls, can you come here for a minute?" His voice was different. My heart went all the way down and curled its little self under my big toe. When I walked down the hallway from my bedroom to the family room, I turned to see my Dad. His hands were gripped tightly to his phone, and there were tears in his eyes....The one person who isn't supposed to ever cry because he is superman, and superheros don't cry.... My head instantly began to pound, and my eyes filled with tears. I remember thinking in my head, "This is it, Kalee. Time to be tough. You're the oldest. Stop with the crying." Then he said the words, "The biopsy showed that the lump under my arm is Metastatic Melanoma." When we knew he had a lump under his arm, I googled 'Metastatic Melanoma'. I needed my head to know what we were up against, because I knew my heart would be a melting into a puddle of heartache. I knew this wasn't good. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. After the news was shared, I asked if he told Mom and he said, "Yes, she is on her way home." I spent the next couple hours in the pool, partly because it was a billion degrees outside, and partly because I felt like I could blame my red eyes on the chlorine... instead of my tears. Mom came home and we all piled into her bed and cried. In the afternoon, Dad headed up to the high school to watch a last bit of football practice and to bring Rhett home. He told Rhett, and Rhett put on the toughest helmet of all and carried himself and anyone else he needed to. It was quite the day. It's been quite the year.
We've almost hit that year mark, and the cancer is still no where to be found!!! But this kind of cancer is a monster. Once it's made a way into the body once, it almost always shows up in other places again. So we pray for mercy, and grace, and heavenly healing over my Dad's body. God knows what kind of plan He has for my Dad, and for that awful cancer.
This is also a stone I've been holding onto. One that my sweet Mama is holding onto. We are human, and we want control of the things and situations in our lives. Casting this cancer stone to God is scary. There is too much on the line.
But, friends, God simply wants us to come to Him with empty hands and open hearts. Leave your pile of stones at the door, or give them a really good throw as far as you can. Cast the stones from your tired hands, and open them up to the God who pours living water from His cup. Take a sip. Drink it up.
Our God is sovereign. He is merciful, and His love never fails us. He needs us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. He needs us to trust in His perfect plan, and know that He will never forsake us. He needs us to thank Him for the many blessings He has given us, and share these blessings with those around us.
It's hard to do all of these things, when our hands are full of 'stones' that are not meant for us to carry.
I know for me personally, the things that hold be back are school, busy schedules, technology {yep}, the image in my mind of how I want my life to be... and the list could still go on forever. Pretty full hands I have here.
We are approaching the one year mark when I heard the words, "I have cancer" come out of my Dad's mouth. Wow. When I take myself back to that morning of August 19th, I can remember everything perfectly. I remember having a lazy morning. Emilee had not gone back to school yet, I started the next day, Rhett was in school, Mom was at work, and Dad was waiting for the phone to ring with results from a biopsy. Emilee and I were still in our pajamas, hair on top of our heads, tired faces, something was on TV, but we were eating breakfast and fiddling on our phones...
Dad got the call and stepped outside. I remember him walking back in and saying, "Girls, can you come here for a minute?" His voice was different. My heart went all the way down and curled its little self under my big toe. When I walked down the hallway from my bedroom to the family room, I turned to see my Dad. His hands were gripped tightly to his phone, and there were tears in his eyes....The one person who isn't supposed to ever cry because he is superman, and superheros don't cry.... My head instantly began to pound, and my eyes filled with tears. I remember thinking in my head, "This is it, Kalee. Time to be tough. You're the oldest. Stop with the crying." Then he said the words, "The biopsy showed that the lump under my arm is Metastatic Melanoma." When we knew he had a lump under his arm, I googled 'Metastatic Melanoma'. I needed my head to know what we were up against, because I knew my heart would be a melting into a puddle of heartache. I knew this wasn't good. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. After the news was shared, I asked if he told Mom and he said, "Yes, she is on her way home." I spent the next couple hours in the pool, partly because it was a billion degrees outside, and partly because I felt like I could blame my red eyes on the chlorine... instead of my tears. Mom came home and we all piled into her bed and cried. In the afternoon, Dad headed up to the high school to watch a last bit of football practice and to bring Rhett home. He told Rhett, and Rhett put on the toughest helmet of all and carried himself and anyone else he needed to. It was quite the day. It's been quite the year.
We've almost hit that year mark, and the cancer is still no where to be found!!! But this kind of cancer is a monster. Once it's made a way into the body once, it almost always shows up in other places again. So we pray for mercy, and grace, and heavenly healing over my Dad's body. God knows what kind of plan He has for my Dad, and for that awful cancer.
This is also a stone I've been holding onto. One that my sweet Mama is holding onto. We are human, and we want control of the things and situations in our lives. Casting this cancer stone to God is scary. There is too much on the line.
But, friends, God simply wants us to come to Him with empty hands and open hearts. Leave your pile of stones at the door, or give them a really good throw as far as you can. Cast the stones from your tired hands, and open them up to the God who pours living water from His cup. Take a sip. Drink it up.
Our God is sovereign. He is merciful, and His love never fails us. He needs us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. He needs us to trust in His perfect plan, and know that He will never forsake us. He needs us to thank Him for the many blessings He has given us, and share these blessings with those around us.
It's hard to do all of these things, when our hands are full of 'stones' that are not meant for us to carry.
Give Thanks to the Lord for He is good...
...and strong enough to carry our burdens for us.
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18
No comments:
Post a Comment