All the Fixings
“Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.”- Jude 2
Can you taste it? Can you smell it? Can you picture it? Can you hardly contain yourself? As I write this article, we are less than seventy-two hours from Thanksgiving. Many will be gathering with loved ones centering their celebration of gratitude around the table for a mouthwatering feast. Many tables at mealtime will display the grand main course and be filled from end to end with side dishes galore. The turkey, the mashed potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and gravy has my stomach setting its hunger alarm clock for Thursday afternoon!
As thoroughly tasty as a Thanksgiving meal is, the hours of labor that goes into that five-course, five-star meal (that we scarf down in a matter of minutes) makes it a dinner which few if any would consider making on a regular basis. However, on this Thanksgiving, I want us to understand that when it comes to God’s heart and care for us, He is always the top chef, creating masterpieces that satisfy our taste buds and fill the hunger pains we have. I have always loved the promise of Jesus found in the Beatitudes, in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” The Lord is at work in our lives DAILY and ABUNDANTLY to answer every area that is a place of need, lack, and even desire. He is a God who has given His everything to us, who does not withhold His favor or grace, and who is in the business of blessing. Paul reminds the church of this extravagant gift-giving God in Romans 8:33, “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things.”
As we look around the current landscape of our families, our neighborhoods, and even our community, we see that many are sitting at a table that is the antithesis of a Thanksgiving Day feast:
There are families who are grieving over the passing of a loved one. Several whose hearts have been pierced by the senseless shooting in our city and the sudden loss of a person who should still be with us.
There are families who will not be home on Thanksgiving Day and it has nothing to do with travels taking them somewhere else. Hundreds have lost their homes to the recent Woolsey, Hill, and Camp fires.
There are individuals who have based their identity and filled their schedule with their job but have found little fulfillment beyond the paycheck.
There are individuals who chased love, value, and acceptance through numerous relationships but have only found heartbreak, unfaithfulness, and loneliness.
There are individuals who have sought to numb the pain through alcohol, drugs, and other vices but they have yet to find a long-term cure to their pain.
There are individuals who crave power, money, and status but no matter how much they have accomplished and accumulated, they still want more.
During this week I want us to remember all of God’s goodness to us and I want us to receive all God’s generous gifts that He planned for us in this season. May the Lord work wonderfully, powerfully, faithfully, and abundantly in your life. May His daily blessings meet your basic needs. May His plenty be the answer to your famine. May His invitation take you from the doghouse to the penthouse. May the Lord sit you in a place where nothing is lacking and everything is provided for!
Like the Turkey main course, the Lord has your BIG NEEDS covered.
Like the side dishes, the Lord has EVERY DETAIL handled.
Like the pumpkin pie, the Lord has SWEET VICTORY ahead.
Here are some more promises to chew on before your Thursday stomach alarm goes off:
John 10:10- “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
Psalm 145:7- “They celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.”
Deuteronomy 28:12- “The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the works of your hands.”
1 Peter 2:2-3- “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Psalm 34:8- “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
Romans 15:13- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”