Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me, (Isaiah 46:9 ESV)
Thanksgiving and Faith
My past is littered with Star Trek. It was my first real favorite television show. My first friendship was formed around Star Trek. At times, I have scheduled activities around the times Star Trek was playing. I have, at times, attempted to model my personality after Mr. Spock. My first cell phone was, in my mind, a communicator.
My memories seem like a tapestry threaded with Star Trek.
And that is silly.
According to Isaiah, though, remembering the past leads to God. He (and there is no other!) was in ALL the former things of old. Look into your past, believer, and You will see God acting.
It is sometimes easier to see His presence in our lives while remembering the past than it is to know with surety that He is present now. Hindsight sees God’s loving hands more clearly than our present senses perceive.
That is the connection between being thankful for what God has done and faith. When our remembering is focused by faith, we find much for which to be thankful.
Creation, a thing that we believe that is in the past, is a reason for thanksgiving. Biblical prophecies fulfilled in Christ, which were given and fulfilled in the past, are a reason for thanksgiving. Christ’s sacrificial atonement on His cross, which occurred on a specific day and gives oomph to our faith, is a reason for thanksgiving. We can believe that God has protected, sustained, nurtured and blessed you, and given you so many reasons for thanksgiving.
Remember what God DID and be thankful.
Take the faith God grants us.