The Eyes of Thanksgiving

Last week my husband was in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  Most Haitians are incredibly poor, millions live in dirt homes that flood when it rains.  Last week I stood in a grocery store that had more food, safe water, pasteurized milk and organic fruit than I could ever want or need.

I don’t say this to bring about some American side-dish of guilt before Thanksgiving.   God is not disappointed in me because I’m American.  He loves me.  And He’s done so since before the foundation of the world.  He put me on this planet in this place for this time in history.  But something’s been stirring in me on this Eve of Thanksgiving.

1.  I don’t ever want to become blind to my blessings.

I read something the other day that stuck:

“Satan is an ingrate.  And he sinks his venom into the heart of Eden.  Satan’s sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude.  Adam and Eve are, simply, painfully, ungrateful for what God gave.

“Isn’t that the catalyst of all my sins?

“Our fall was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren’t satisfied in God and what He gives.  We hunger for something more, something other.”    One Thousand Gifts:  A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp

How much mental energy is given to this thought of “if I just had more of…..”.  What does it look like to be completely grateful, filled up and satisfied with Jesus?   Give thanks for everything.  Ephesians 5:20

2.  I don’t ever want to stop asking the question “Who are the ones I can help?”

Material and spiritual blessings are not bad.  Hoarding them is.

“Why not begin operating under the idea that God has given us excess, not so we could have more, but so we could give more.  The truth is, there will continue to be millions and millions of people who do not hear as long as we continue to use spare time and spare money to each them.  Those are two radically different questions.  ‘What can we spare?’ and ‘What will it take?'”   Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream, by David Platt

What a shift takes place inside of me when I ask that question – what will it take?  As I seek His answer to this, it places me in submission to His will and moving in my life.

Bottom line:

~I want to be thankful.  As Ephesians 5:20 says, I want to be thankful for everything.  I want to be fully aware of the gift of my salvation, my redemption in Christ and the presence of His Spirit in me.  I want to be thankful for all that He has given me, both materially and spiritually.

~I want to be aware of the needs of those around me and do something about it.  I want to be willing to stop long enough to look around, to listen to His voice, and then be obedient to what He shows me.  

Is it possible to be fully grateful and fully called to reach out to others?  Yes!  As we sit at our own Thanksgiving tables tomorrow and bow our heads to say thanks, may we also ask God who needs Him and how can we bridge that gap.  Let’s ask the question – “What will it take?”  Whether it’s in Haiti or for someone close by, may we live a life of obedient intentionality this holiday season.

Lord, let me be mindful of Your presence in my life.  Thank You for this truth that You are with me.  My heart praises you for all that You are and all that You have given to me.  God I want to be a woman that seeks after You and listens to You.  Help me to see and reach out to the poor and needy and share Your incredible love with them.  Show me Lord, show me who they are and how to respond in obedience.  In Jesus name, Amen.