Always Thankful

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:3-6

I really like that in almost all of his letters Paul at some point - almost always by way of his greeting - says that he is thankful for the people to whom he is writing. The four verses above speak volumes about being thankful.

Like Paul each week as I write this simple devotion, hoping that it will be used by the Lord to encourage someone, I think of you, pray and thank God for each of you. Some of you reading this have been a part of my life for a long time and have been an encouragement to me throughout the years - for you I give God thanks. Some of you I don’t know as well but you have touched my life in some way, so for you I also give thanks to God. Some of you I am just getting to know and have already been encouraged and am excited to see what happens next as we journey together - I am thanking God for you too. 

None of us are perfect; no relationship is without its occasional drama - that’s part of life and something to be thankful for. We are being made over, by a God who loves us and perhaps one of the greatest things we have to be thankful for is that He is not finished with us yet, but He will keep working until we are radiant and perfect. Then we will see each other, the way He sees each of us - as amazing masterpieces, one-of-a-kinds that together form an even greater masterpiece. I wonder what the portrait of the Family of God will look like then, when it is already so spectacular.

This week as you gather to feast with friends and family remember you are loved by God and so are they (even the difficult ones). I thank God every time I remember you. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

A Prayer
Father - Thank you, that you remember us and will not leave us unfinished. Thank you for the people you place in our lives to help us, to encourage us and to journey with us, they are all part of your plan. May we all give thanks every time we remember one another and especially as we remember all that You have done for us. In the name of Jesus - Amen.