After celebrating Thanksgiving, you may be tempted to run out or get on your phone and find a Black Friday sale and buy something because it’s on sale. Yet if you pause for a few moments with God, you may discover something incredibly valuable, true, and will save you a lot of money.
As I’ve been spending my early mornings in Psalms and Proverbs and as I’ve been spending many days with God and His hurting people, I’m discovering how hard it is to stop, listen, pray, and give thanks to God. Oftentimes, what’s driving us drives us and others crazy. If our thoughts and feelings and beliefs are that we are inadequate, are lacking something, or are empty, then we are compelled to do something, buy something, eat something, drink something, or be around someone who gives us what we ran out of. If we’ve lost who or what’s dear to us, if we’ve messed up repeatedly and have an iceberg of shame and guilt under the surface, or if we’ve hurt or have been hurt by “loved ones”, we may go into hiding because we have run out of faith, trust, felt-security, or confidence. If we have lost our grounding, our patience, our memory, our way, or our emotional regulation, we may detach, distract, or divert our attention to anything trying to find comfort.
When nothing this world tells us or sells us truly makes us feel good about ourselves
and when we run out of hope, we have a God who continually invites us to listen, to not fear, to meditate on His unfailing love, and to give thanks. I came out of blogging retirement to share what’s fresh and true. It “jumped right off of the page” from God’s heart: “The world is Mine and everything in it.” (He doesn’t want or need our sacrifices.) God says, “What I want instead is your true thanks to God. I want you to fulfill your vows to the Most High. Trust Me in times of trouble and I will rescue you, and you will give Me glory…Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors Me. If you keep to My path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” (Psalm 50)
When we stop and when everything on the inside starts coming out, we don’t have to run out and do something or buy anything. We can stop, stay, listen, and hear what truly matters: Jesus loves us—period! Jesus came and died and rose again to wash away our sins. Jesus taught us how to live, love, and forgive. We can’t do anything to make ourselves more valuable than we already are. Our God even chose us to reflect His loving and gracious image to a world that’s shut down or running around “with its head cut off”.
Don’t give in to Satan’s lies, the world’s rapid temptations, your ever-changing feelings, or negative narratives. Match your pace and your rhythms and your words with God’s. God wants you to remain with Him on His path. God is with you. He loves you, and He won’t ever abandon you. In Psalm 139:3, God’s Word instructs us, “You chart out the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.” Don’t give in to fear or anxiety or the lust for more, bigger, or better. God will help you, even if you don’t think or feel like He is helping you. God provides abundantly for all of your needs, and you lack nothing! God wants you to honestly and sincerely give Him thanks and praise and all of the glory throughout the moments of your life. You’re fully-known, loved, valued, and lack nothing!
Have you ever noticed that God never runs out of anything nor does He run or seem to be in a hurry? Since we’re made in His image, we should walk in His footsteps. Let’s commit to keeping in step with The Spirit, thanking God as He provides everything we need.