MESSAGES
"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God…"
—Isaiah 61:10—
Thanksgiving dates back in this country to the time when the pilgrims, after a winter of starvation and a summer that yielded enough crop to carry them through the following year, gathered together to give thanks to their Creator for a wonderful deliverance. It is a harvest festival that we in this nation have come to celebrate annually.
We in this country are very blessed to have things in abundance. However, that is not the case with most of the world. There are many areas in the world where people have nothing to eat or drink. Jesus lived in the middle of poverty, yet He never had a meal without giving thanks to His Father. Whether we have much or whether we have little, we are to rejoice in the Lord and be thankful to Him for what we have.
One of the blessings we're to thank Him for is our profession as firefighters and police officers. To have the opportunity to help the citizens of our community in their time of need is a tremendous privilege, despite the fact that it can be tremendously difficult at times.
In many cities across the United States, today's "political climate" tends to show itself in opposition to your professions. Nonetheless, you must remember that you are where you are today because God has placed you there. That being the case, you are to continue to do the very best job you can. After all, as a Christian, you are to do everything "as unto the Lord, and not to men" (Ephesians 6:7). Anyone who is unwilling to give God their best may not be as thankful to God as they be.
I realize that there are many people who dislike the badge you wear. They dislike the authority that it represents, and they are attempting to discourage, if not destroy, the person who wears it. I know that this can easily cause frustration, but you have to guard against it also taking away your thankfulness.
The Bible says, "In everything give thanks" (1 Thess 5:18). We are to give thanks not for everything, but in everything. As Christian's we know that God can redeem the situation and can work out the problem, whatever it might be. Even when things aren't going well at work, we're to give thanks to God. No matter what our circumstance, good or bad, we are to rejoice in the Lord and be thankful to Him for what we have.
I'm reminded of the words in Robinson Crusoe's ledger after he was shipwrecked on a small island. In his ledger he drew up parallel columns. In one column he listed the bad points of what happened due to his shipwreck, while in the other column he listed the good points in spite of his shipwreck. On the bad side he stated: I am cast up on a deserted island with no hope of recovery. There is no one to help me. I have no clothes. I have no gun to shoot animals that would eat me. On the good side he wrote: I am not dead like everyone else on the ship. The ship is beached close enough to land so that I can retrieve many of her supplies. It's hot and I don't need clothes. There aren't any animals that would eat me. The point is this—things are never as bad as they seem.
There will be times in our lives when we can foresee no lightening of our circumstances, and it seems that nothing satisfactory will come of them. Everything looks dull and dreary. The brightness has dimmed to darkness. That traffic collision that took everyone's life in the family except for one. That beautiful young wife and mother who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. That precious, innocent baby that was in the crossfire of a gang shooting, and tragically murdered. We cannot pretend that our grief is anything but devastating. Yet, in the midst of it we are to rejoice in the Lord and give thanks for what we have.
In all honesty, that seems like an impossible thing to do, and it is—in and of ourselves. Only our faith in God allows us to give thanks during these times.
I'm reminded of the words of Habakkuk, "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (3:17-18 emphasis added).
These words by Habakkuk were spoken on the eve of the destruction of his country. Yet, they constitute one of the boldest declarations of faith to be found anywhere in the Bible. Though our bank might fold, though our house might burn, though our loved one might die, though everything in our life is troubling, let us rejoice in the Lord (not in the problem), and give thanks to Him always.
God bless you,
Pastor Steve |
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| SHIELD OF FAITH |
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For more information,
call (951) 687-6902
Attention Juanita
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