Thankfully Preparing The Way

Isaiah 40:3 - “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” (NLT)

November is an easy month to remember to be thankful. Every year we have a month that includes a holiday that allows us the space to find what we can be thankful for. God would love it if we would make thanksgiving a part of our everyday life, and not just a holiday in November.

This month we are going to look at ways we can be thankful, and things that we can be thankful for. It is my prayer that we are not simply preparing the way for Christmas, but we are preparing our hearts for a life of thanksgiving and celebration. I believe that the apostle Paul knew the secret to patient endurance. He went through so much persecution and imprisonment, that he had to find a way to cope and never doubt his God! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

It is often easy for us to be overwhelmed by life. We look at our mountains and we forget that no matter how big they are, our God is so much bigger! When our challenges become too much, I hope that we are reminded of the real meaning of thanksgiving and Christmas. It is not for us to have more turkey and stuffing, or to get more presents. It is that we have a God who loved us so much that He was willing to sit by as His one and only Son would take the punishment for our sin. This is how much God loves and desires us.

My prayer for us in November is that we prepare our hearts and remember who God is, that He can do more than we can imagine or think. I pray that we are willing to engage the Creator of all things and come to the understanding that our thanksgiving should be given to the author and perfecter of our faith. God looked over the world, from the beginning to the end, and at this point in time, He knew that the world needed one of you! Let Jesus be our King, and may we begin to prepare the way for the newborn King as we ready ourselves for Advent. 
 - Pastor Mike