Thursday, November 26

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020

 

“Your word, Lord, is eternal;

    it stands firm in the heavens.

Your faithfulness continues through all generations;

    you established the earth, and it endures.

Your laws endure to this day,

    for all things serve you.” (Psalm 119:89-91)

 

 

On this Thanksgiving Day, we pause to give thanks for God’s faithfulness to us over this trying and tumultuous year.  Like Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we found ourselves cast into the fire of COVID-19’s dangers and major economic and social repercussions.  We have regrettably become disconnected from family and friends out of caution.  Our hearts hurt in grappling with the losses that we have faced.

 

Yet, God has remained faithful and steadfast.  His love has not faded, and His Word stands firm.  As this year has demonstrated, our trust in smaller things can quickly fail us, but God will not.  In our toughest moments, we cling to His sovereignty and recognize how much we need Him and His presence.

 

Daniel and his friends provided outstanding examples of trusting God through the trials of life.  Instead of looking for the “easy out” of bowing to Babylon’s pressures, they instead maintained their commitment to God.  Please meditate on this bold declaration of trust:  “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17,18)

 

God did indeed deliver them from the furnace, sending the pre-incarnate Jesus into the fire to rescue these faithful servants.  Importantly, we see their heart:  that their trust lay in God Himself, not their circumstances.

 

Which fires has God brought you through this year?  Have you recorded these examples in a journal or at least shared with family and friends?  How have you become more convinced of God’s faithfulness this year?

 

 

Lord God, thank You for Your tremendous faithfulness to us.  Help us to grow in trust and to look to Your character in times of fiery trials.  Preserve our dear family and friends during these days of COVID-19 and many other struggles, from economic loss to loneliness.  Bring healing to our relationships and to our country.  Help us to carry a spirit of thanksgiving forward from today.  In Jesus’s mighty Name, amen.