With this being Thanksgiving week my post is obviously going to be about being thankful. The obvious and easy option would be to talk about how thankful I am for all our friends and family, all the people who have supported us, and for this opportunity to be moving back overseas. Here is the problem with that, I have forgotten the most important person. And as much as I do not want to admit it I really do think that I have spent a lot of the past few weeks forgetting to be thankful to God.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 This is a verse that Johnny and I spend a lot of time discussing. But for some reason yesterday I just had to stop and ask myself if this verse was just a head knowledge thing or if I truly believed it. I have been spending so much time doing the math of how much more we need to raise how much each person or church could give, how many more people we needed to contact, that I forgot to stop and thank God for each gift. This is not just talking about the gift of people’s financial support, this is the friendship they have shown, the way we have been encouraged and shown over and over that people believe in us and what God is asking us to do. So many people have welcomed us into their homes, have asked to pray for us, and have asked us to share our stories; these are all doors that the Lord has opened.
The other day during my quiet time with God I came across a verse I had never noticed before: Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. 2 Corinthians 2:17 This verse really was what God used to start me thinking through this and where I was placing my trust and what I was saying thank you to. We are not making these meetings and sharing the passion God has given us so that people will give us money, we are doing it so that people see what God has done and what He is continuing to do in and through us. It is not us who are convincing people to give it is God working in hearts, including our own for His own glory.
Yesterday I wrote down the numbers of what we had left to raise, then I erased them, I gave them over to God and asked Him to completely take them from me. This week and for the rest of this time I do not want to focus on how much is left, instead I want to focus on God’s gifts every day. If one day someone commits ten dollars, then I say, “Thank you God!” if the next day someone invites us into their home, I say, “Thank you God!”, and if some day all our appointments are canceled and we do not get responses from anyone then I say, “Thank you God, for this day of rest!”