Are We REALLY Thankful?
Muley
Are we really thankful for the bounties that God has provided us with, or do we take them completely for granted.
The prevailing attitude seems to be that God owes us all that we have, and more. As we fight our way through a maze of travel hassles to arrive somewhere, gobble a huge repast, and fight our way back again, we scarcely reflect on what we do have. Oh, we might go through the ritualistic mumbling of a Thanksgiving blessing before dinner, but that's about it.
The original Thanksgiving was held by a group of folks who were genuinely thankful to God for the things they had.
They had had to relocate to a strange land they knew nothing about, forfeiting most of their holdings and possessions.
They had to travel under conditions that make today's travel hassles look like a pity party.
They had to scratch out the basic necessities (shelter, heat, defense, food) from the land using only what they had with them.
Knowing nothing about the land, they nearly all perished from starvation, until some "ignorant savages" took pity on them.
Despite all of this, they persevered, and were truly grateful to be alive at the time of the first Thanksgiving.
Today, God still provides the same bounties for us as He did then. Trouble is, most of us have lost the skills and the will to
make use of these bounties. We expect everything to be served to us on a silver platter. Due to decadent, hedonistic lifestyles,
we have painted ourselves into a corner of inability to respond to crises. The other day, after the first major snowfall or the year,
I passed 5 rigs within about a mile while heading into town. All 5 were newer pickups and all had 2 to 4 snowmobiles in tow.
Folks heading out to play in the snow with gas at $3.20/gal. I'd venture to say that none of these folks has any amount of food or
supplies laid up. They probably have no tools or survival equipment to speak of, and no skills to use them anyway.
Can we expect God, who grants us huge bounties, to bless us with more if we don't make good use of what we already have?
He gives us intelligence, and the freedom of choice. If we choose not to honor Him, He doesn't force us to. We have the freedom
to worship as we see fit, and suffer the consequences thereof later. Is it any different when it comes to God's provision? If we
choose to stick our heads in the sand and not prepare for hard times, That's O.K. with God, but be prepared for the consequences later.
Those of us, here in Idaho, are particularly blessed. We have an abundance of good water, grasses, wood for both fuel and construction, wild game, edible plants, etc.
I don't know about you, but I give thanks every day for the blessings God has granted to me. Now, it's up to me to make good use
of them.
God puts worms in the ground for birds, but He doesn't poke them down their throats!
May God hold you in the palm of His hand on this, and every day.
Muley