(11.22.21– (A Thankful Heart!) –1 Thessalonians 5: 12-28)
My friend, may I ask you a question? Perhaps there's no greater thing to be said about a person than that he was thankful and his life was a picture of generosity and giving.
My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.
I'm M. Clifford Brunner.
Thanksgiving! Its been said that giving thanks is a course that we ought never to graduate from. Gratitude ought to be a life-long occupation that rises with us in the morning and reclines with us at night. For when we forget to be thankful, when we forget to put on the cloak of gratitude, the very nature of who we are is changed. Perhaps there's no greater thing to be said about a person than that he was thankful and his life was a picture of generosity and giving.
Here's a story: "When General Ulysses S. Grant arrived in New York in 1854 he was broke and far from his Ohio home. He went to call on a West Point friend, Simon Buckner. Buckner generously supplied him with funds, so that he could reach his home in Ohio. Years later when Grant captured Fort Donelson in that Great Civil War victory of February of 1862, the surrender was made by General Buckner, now an officer in the Confederacy. In a speech delivered years later at a Grant birthday dinner, Buckner told what happened there at Fort Donelson: 'Under these circumstances I surrendered to General Grant. I had at a previous time befriended him, and it has been justly said that he never forgot an act of kind- ness. I met him on the boat (at the surrender), and he followed me when I went to my quarters. He left the officers of his own army and followed me, with that modest manner peculiar to him, into the shadow, and there he repaid my loan made years before. Being modest and humbly thankful he wanted to make sure that only he and I would witness that act of generosity, and he sought to hide it from the world." (Macartney’s Illustrations, pg. 149)
Although the capture of the fort seemed most important, that violent and deadly action paled in comparison to a grateful heart. The evil of the moment became something far, more gentle. There was a debt to repay and humility to offer. It became the crowning achievement of the moment as the hat-in-hand exchange of a few dollars and coins in repayment of a kindness signaled the true importance of the moment. God works in mysterious ways in our lives. When we experience evil, He manages it for good. When we suffer misfortune, He pulls us closer. No matter what the situation, God brings His grace and mercy to bear, cloaked in the mantel of His gracious love and tender mercy. Our humble gratitude has a way of doing that as well. It pierces through the darkest days and calms the roughest waters. It simply can’t be helped. So, thank God for evil? No, evil is not a result of anything God has done. Evil does not come from God, but a thankful heart does. Being able to thank God even when evil happens to us is not a response to the evil but a recognition that even evil is controlled by God for our good. God will accomplish good always and for that we can be ever so thankful.
We pray. Heavenly Father, our humble gratitude pierces through the darkest days and calms the roughest waters when we think about Your grace and mercy. We know that evil is not a result of anything You have done. Evil does not come from You, but a thankful heart does. Being able to thank You even when evil happens to us is not a response to the evil but a recognition that even evil is controlled by You for our good. You will accomplish good always and for that we can be ever so thankful. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
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<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.