Thursday, November 28

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2013

Daniel 5:1–31

2 Peter 2:1–22

Psalm 119:113–128

Proverbs 28:19,20

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends!  May you be richly blessed in remembering the goodness and glory of God and His provision in your lives today.  I would like to offer several quick remembrances of thanks:

 

1.       For the lovingkindness of God my Savior, Who sacrificed His Son so that I might have life and relationship with Him;

 

2.       For my beloved wife Danielle, who faithfully supports me in running after the visions God has put in my life;

 

3.       For my parents and Danielle’s family, who sacrificed tremendously to give us great opportunities; and

 

4.       For the Grace Church family, who form a loving community of friends and partners in the Gospel; and

 

5.       For our Gospel partners around the world, who are giving their lives so that the glory of God may be magnified and revealed.

 

 

 

I would like to focus today on the two verses from Proverbs and make brief mention of Daniel, who clearly dispenses his responsibilities and displays his character in Proverbs-honoring ways.

 

“He who works his land will have abundant food,

                but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

 

“A faithful man will be richly blessed,

                but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.”  (Proverbs 28:19,20)

 

 

On this Thanksgiving Day, I would like to reflect on that thin line between working faithfully and diligently and trusting God.  In light of an uncertain future, whom shall we trust?  Do we trust in our own efforts?  Or in God’s provision?  Or both?

 

The Proverbs and many other Scriptural passages point to God’s blessing of those in positive action.  Please think of Isaiah 40:28–31 or His blessing of the kickstarted Moses, the courageous Joshua, the triumphant David, or the great administrator Nehemiah.  Also, consider Mary’s trusting but active participation in bring Jesus to earth or to those women who sacrificed their normality to follow after the living Christ.  While these folks certainly faced struggles, God’s all-sufficient grace carried them on in service and love of Him and His people.  God provided the strength and will to continue, even in the midst of opposition and struggle.

At the same time, we may go too far in celebrating human effort and achievement.  Our culture loves to idolize and mythologize our sports heroes and other celebrities.  How may we balance the extremes of recognizing our “tragic flaws,” which might paralyze us to inaction, and the dangerous tendency to trust in our own resources?

 

We must recognize two realities.  First, God has given us every ability, talent, skill, and resources; we really don’t own anything more than our decisions, which may consist of actions, words, or thoughts.  Please reflect on any positive tendency or characteristic:  ultimately from the loving hand of God!  This reality makes us stewards or caretakers of the endowments and responsibilities He has given us.

 

With that understanding, we may then consider the second reality:  we must not shirk responsibility, but rather become partners in God’s work on the earth.  This reality finds its most complete expression in the pre-Fall Garden, where God delighted in Adam’s creativity and dominion-building activities.  Only the Fall made it more challenging and brought enmity between the man and the woman.  By analogy, heaven will likely feature similar opportunities to serve and create, but without the Sisyphean toil of our earthly existence.

 

Therefore, may we take our responsibilities and giftings and offer them to the Lord.  May we run towards His plans and goals for our lives, honoring Him through showing His faithful, gentle, and loving character.  May we reflect on how we may serve alongside our loving Father in the business of redemption and renewal.

 

 

Lord, I pray that You would direct our hearts and minds in service to You.  Thank You for giving us many talents, gifts, and responsibilities; help us to dispense these responsibilities in an honoring way.  Take our hearts, minds, and strength for Your service and glory.  Particularly, strengthen us today to become encouragements to anyone hurting that we may encounter.  Give us a heart of compassion and words that would bring life.  We celebrate Your goodness this Thanksgiving.  Without You, we are nothing!  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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