Thankful Thursday

another week of lockdown

what am I learning through this experience?

One thing is for sure: no human has any idea how long this will continue to affect us or what the end result will be

everyone has their own take on the situation

I have a choice in how I respond

will I get upset and uptight, or will I stand upright and continue to trust?

I'm thankful God is the same yesterday, today, and forever

I'm thankful His promises haven't changed

thankful He holds me in His hand, and there is nothing that can pluck me away from Him

I'm thankful God is holy

thankful all His works are done in faithfulness

thankful God's lovingkindness fills the whole earth

I believe God is revealing Himself in this time

in Isaiah 45 God says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God.  I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me.  I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these."

He wants all men to know that He alone is God

this pandemic has helped to show us how helpless we really are

If God wanted to, He could wipe us out

it is because of His mercy that we are not consumed

how thankful I am for God's mercy

I'm thankful He is a God who delights in reconciling people to Himself

and I believe at the very heart of this situation that is God's purpose

He's getting our attention and wants us to be reconciled to Him

later in the book of Isaiah, it tells us that all of us have turned our back on God and chosen to go our own way

and in Ephesians, we are told that outside of a relationship with Christ, we were dead in our sins

But God,

I'm so thankful for that phrase

I was headed for destruction...but God

I was hopelessly floundering through life...but God

I was trapped in a spiral of sin...but God

I was full of anger and hatred...but God

in the richness of His mercy, driven by His great love for mankind, sacrificed His only Son to free me from that bondage of sin

I am thankful for the cross, where Jesus suffered the wrath of God for me

thankful His blood cleanses me

thankful I am now clothed with His righteousness

I am thankful for these disturbing times that force me to come face to face with my desperate need for God's intervention in my life

I am thankful I don't need to fear or give in to panic

I am thankful my hope is secure

I am thankful I am a recipient of God's grace

thankful He calls me His son 

thankful God gives me courage to follow Him even when walking through the valley of death