November is the time of year when we turn our thoughts towards giving thanks and Thanksgiving. And it's oh, so easy to begin listing out all of the wonderful blessings God has given us. It's so easy to start saying, "Thank You, God, for _________" and insert an abundance of gifts He's given. From family, to friends, to food, to a home, to a car, to dreams come true, to all of the wonderful things He loves to give to His children. Just in my last blog post I wrote about some of the little and big things I am so thankful to Him for. But what about the things we didn't necessarily ask for or want? What about when we pray for something and He says, "no"? What about the things that hurt and that we certainly don't want to be grateful for? At the beginning of this year, I asked God for something that was good. This was something I prayed for constantly, something I wanted desperately, something that allowed me to serve Him. It was good and in my mind I couldn't come up with any reason why God wouldn't give it to me. So I prayed and prayed. I believed. I had full confidence that God was going to say, "yes." If you had asked me if I had faith as small as a mustard seed, I would've told you that my faith was even bigger than that. So when the "no" came, it crashed into my heart so much harder than I imagined. It was painful, it hurt, I cried. And over the last year, that hasn't been the only time God has said "no" when I have fallen to my knees and prayed so hard that He would just say "yes," this time. When November came around and my thoughts turned to Thanksgiving and this month where we celebrate thankfulness, I began to think about the "no's" God has given me over the last year. I began to wonder...could it be possible to thank Him even for these? I surely don't feel like it. And if I'm completely honest with you, I don't even understand why I'm being grateful for something that broke my heart when I still don't know the reason behind it. Maybe you feel the same way? Maybe it's easy for you to be thankful for all the wonderful things God did for you in the last year. Maybe when Thanksgiving rolls around, you'll be able to quickly list all the things you are grateful for from 2018 and beyond. But the hard parts of 2018? The hard parts of the last year when God said "no" and you didn't understand and you felt broken? Maybe those are so much harder for you to even think of being thankful for. Let me tell you something, friend: Even His "no" is covered in grace. Even His "no" is covered in goodness. You do not have to understand why He said "no" to thank Him for giving it, because even when we don't understand why, we trust that He is good always and even His "no" is for our good in some way. I know it's a totally different way of thinking from what we feel. It's even totally different from what the world may tell us. It's totally different from what we sometimes want to do. Because when He says "no" we sometimes want to sulk in our hurts and stay there and just question why in the world He would do that. Yet no matter what His reason is, it's good. And because it's good and He is good, I can thank Him for the good He has coming even when right now doesn't feel good. So thank You, God, for the hurts in the last year that I know You're using, because I believe You don't waste anything. Thank You, God, for the "no's" You've given this past year, because I believe You saw what I couldn't see and You covered each answer in goodness beyond what I can see. Thank You, God, for the things that didn't turn out how I planned, because I believe that Your plans for me are good and perfect and every answer You give is directing me into the future You have for me. Are you brave enough to pray that this Thanksgiving season when we remember to thank God for all the blessings He's given us? Are you brave enough to thank Him for the answers you didn't want and the hurt you would've rather left out? Are you brave enough to say "Thank You" even when you don't understand? Let's be brave enough together, friend. He's so good. Amen.
2 Comments
Rachel
11/9/2018 01:42:28 pm
Oh such a beautiful reminder, and timely too!!! Thank you so much!!!
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11/18/2018 05:56:30 pm
Thank you for writing this, its exactly what I need to hear, <3
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