These past few weeks have been all about family. My daughter Stephanie, her husband Danny, and my two granddaughters Madeline and Macy came from Peru to stay with us for three weeks. They are missionaries doing amazing work from their home and base in Lima, touching countless lives and having a profound impact throughout Peru and Latin America.
They come here once a year to vacation with us and to reconnect with the churches and people who support them on the mission field. Peru does not allow non-citizens to work for income, so everything they accomplish is only possible through the faithful support of those who believe in their calling.
It was a full and wonderful three weeks, but we made sure to have quality family time together. And as happens every year after they return to Peru, I find myself slipping into this overwhelming sense of thankfulness to the Lord.
This morning, I’m sitting on my deck overlooking my garden, reading the Word of God and writing Fresh Manna, feeling full of praise and gratitude. I was reflecting on what a very lost young man I once was—clueless about so much of life. Then one day, a gal named Sharon told me about the depth of God’s love and what Jesus had done so I could be reconciled to Him. She helped me pray and ask Jesus into my heart, and from that moment on, I became a new person.
I went from wandering aimlessly to walking with the Lord in an intimate relationship that changed the entire course of my life. And today, as I think about it all, I feel so blessed and thankful I can hardly contain myself.
I live daily with the words of Jesus echoing in my heart: “Much is required from those to whom much is given, for their responsibility is greater.” — Luke 12:48 (TLB)
I am also deeply grateful for the truth found in 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (NLT):
“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, ‘If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.’”
When I was young, I was full of myself. I wanted to make my own way, be in charge, control my destiny, and become a success I could boast about. But the truth was, I was wandering through life with no direction and no understanding of where I was headed. My life was a mess.
God’s Word became like arrows of truth, collapsing the fragile sandcastles of thought I had built my life upon. I couldn’t have fully explained it then, but today I would describe that moment of receiving Christ this way: it was the power of God entering a heart that has finally opened to His truth. Suddenly, I could admit how powerless I really was. I wasn’t great. I wasn’t in control. I had no idea where life was leading me, nor how to find success.
I was one of those “foolish things” God chose to confound the wise — and my life became no longer about me, but about Him.
And now here I am, 44 years later, thanking God for allowing me — a foolish thing — to know and love Him. That privilege has shaped every second of my life since.
I am thankful for my wife.
I am thankful for my children.
I am thankful for their spouses.
I am thankful for my grandchildren.
I am thankful that God allowed me to pastor for 35 years.
I am thankful for every wonderful person God has brought into our lives.
I am thankful for the privilege of raising my children to know the love of Jesus Christ.
I am thankful for His promise that because I “trained my children in the way they should go,” as they continue to mature, they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).
And I am thankful that Renee and I have been able to reach around the world with the love of God, with our lives still unfolding as we follow Him.
God’s promises are more real to me than any temporary situation I face. No matter what happens, I know His love will cause His promises to prevail. I have faith in that—in Him! And for that reason, I always feel thankful. Thanksgiving cancels worry. It cancels doubt. It kindles hope. It strengthens faith. It fills my life with good things. Even things that don’t seem good at the moment eventually reveal the goodness of God. And for that reason, we’ve always thanked Him in the difficult, painful, and hurtful times.
All of this doesn’t make me want to boast about my life; it makes me want to boast in the Lord! So I do.
Heavenly Father, I thank You because every good and perfect gift comes from You. Your love is greater than words can say. I have the best Father—You! Almighty God, I praise You! Jesus, my loving Savior, I will worship You all the days of my life!
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) — “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
