Thanksgiving and gratitude
Today is Thanksgiving Sunday so it seemed a natural thing to reflect on being thankful.
I found myself led past the usual people and things for which I’m thankful as I reflected on our Old Testament lesson in comparison to the Philippians reading. We find it easy, or at least I do, to be a bit disdainful of the Israelites behaviour when Moses seems to disappear. I have found myself thinking to my self that I would never do such a thing as make a an idol, especially not a cow, until I realize an idol doesn’t have to be a physical thing such as a statue. When I expand my definition of an idol to included anything I use as a replacement for God, then things get a bit more uncomfortable.
I have used my education, experience, talent, heritage, and many other things as substitutes for faith in God. I have tried to depend on those attributes which are entirely under my control rather than “risking” depending on God, the results have seldom been good. The good news in both Exodus and Philippians is God is willing to overlook our attempts to depend on ourselves rather God. In fact, Paul writes that if we are willing to make our needs and desires known to God we will be able to experience a kind of peace beyond anything we can achieve on our own.
This, is something, among countless others, to be thankful for.
Blessings,
