Be Thankful – Don’t Let Life’s Challenges Steal Your Blessings

As the year comes to an end, are you thankful? To some people thanksgiving may seem out of place right now because they have been through so much this year; yet that is the very reason to thank God. Some people went through much less than you have been through and did not come through but you are still here. The truth that is often hidden is that a lot of people have reasons to be sad or feel ungrateful to God if they dwell on all they have been through but one must be reminded that God brought them through. It takes a mind that is really thoughtful to appreciate the goodness of God. Flighty, shallow and selfish people are unable to look beyond the immediate and as such, may find thanksgiving tough at this time because what we see is often not like God’s purposed end result.  

Luke 2: 7 “She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there no lodging available for them.”

With God, it sometimes seems like one doesn’t have a reason to give thanks but you do. He would often shroud good things in a wrap of seemingly bad things. Why, for example, would our Saviour be born in a manger? Mary and Joseph had to travel all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem on a donkey and ended up without an apartment to rest because all the hotels were fully booked. God could have chosen a better time for the birth of our Saviour so it wouldn’t be too hard on Mary. Indeed they had to stay with animals, I can only imagine the stench; yet Mary carried the very Son of God who is indeed God. It must have been tough for them. At some point, carrying the King of Kings, the miracle for deliverance of mankind must have seemed more like a burden but one couple was willing to pay the price. I often wonder if like us, they complained and murmured all the way. 

Luke 1: 30 & 38 “Don’t be afraid, Mary, the angel told her. For you have found favour with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 Mary chose to pay the price for mankind out of love for God. She offered herself a willing sacrifice and God found her holy and acceptable. She considered it a privilege to carry the Son of God despite the challenges that came with it. She trusted God to bring her through though she did not understand how it would work. She became pregnant with the seed of God and immediately, she was faced with the loss of her fiancé. Thank God for eventually speaking to Joseph but not before Mary had dealt with the issue of him no longer wanting to marry her. Mary changing her mind would have been costly so abortion was not an option. No wonder! God would not take such a risk on just anybody. 

Luke 1: 38 “Mary responded, I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

 

Of course, it doesn’t get easier for anyone as some people would like to think. Mary was a young girl like several others today yet she went through it. We must learn to lean on God tapping into His grace; especially at tough times. It is not possible to do the will of God in one’s own strength. It could not have been easy for Mary but at the end of it all she had reasons to thank God. We may not always understand as God starts to unfold but as we let Him complete His work even without understanding what He is doing, we will find at the end of the process that we survived and have become a wonder. So we must learn to appreciate Him coming through the process with us.