Thankful

With Thanksgiving approaching we often take time to pause and think about what we are thankful for.  It’s easy to think of material things such as our home, food, clothing, etc.  We also are thankful for our family, friends, and relationships, but there is so much more to be thankful for.

I am thankful for the free gift of salvation by grace through faith.  I am thankful that salvation is not something that is earned.  I don’t have to worry about whether I’m working hard enough to obtain it and/or keep it.  It is a free gift from God that all I have to do is accept.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  Ephesians 2:8

Jesus will go to great lengths to retrieve His lost sheep.  He knows His sheep and they know His voice.  He will do what it takes to find His lost sheep and carry it home.  He rejoices when He finds the lost sheep and organizes a party once He’s home.

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ Luke 15: 4-6.

He hears my cries.  We know that we will have trials.  It is comforting to know that we have someone to cry out to and that our cries will be heard and acted upon.

In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.  Psalm 18:6

The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.  Psalm 34:17

As for me, I said in my alarm, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried to You.  Psalm 31:22

A Song of Ascents. In my trouble I cried to the LORD, And He answered me.  Psalm 120:1

He is my rock and my fortress.  I don’t have to be strong, I don’t have to be anything at all.  All I need is Him.

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalm 18:2

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress.  Psalm 59:16

He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.  Psalm 62:2

What are you thankful for?