Hosanna Restoration Church

We have so much to be thankful for in Christ. Outside of Christ, there are a lot of distractions, but we can always be thankful for God and His words that shine brightly on our hearts.

I love how things jump out and are highlighted by the Holy Spirit. For instance, as I read Mark 4:36, where it says other boats followed, I thought what about those other boats?

They followed Jesus and the disciples right into the storm. More than likely they wondered what in the world they had gotten themselves into and hung on for dear life. They may have been yelling for help. They were probably blaming one another for ever following Jesus.

We all know how conversations can go when things are not going well. This would be a good time to let the peace that comes from Christ rule. This would be a great time to be thankful. It is especially true for us. The folks in those boats had not yet received the Holy Spirit. They had not heard Paul’s instructions; but we have.

Yes, they were in the storm, but they also experienced the calm as the storm just quit. Can you imagine the conversation when they all got to shore? Can you imagine the confidence they all gained? Can you imagine how their trust grew?

Have you experienced calm in your storms? Have you expected the Lord to do His thing, or have you suddenly noticed that something changed? I love it when I look, and the storm has disappeared. I love how the peace of God just shows up. What do we do when peace comes?

The perfect response is to let it rule! But what if we don’t feel like it? Think about it. How often does a bad situation have a good outcome, and rather than being thankful, we are still hashing it out. You almost wrecked the car. Almost is a good outcome, isn’t it? Be thankful! But the truth is we have all been guilty of wrecking other things, like people’s feelings or relationships, just because we can’t let it go. We have to say what we should not say rather than letting it go away.

So be thankful. Recognize the blessings and praise God for the good that has come or the good that we know is coming because of the promise of God!

We might learn to be thankful that the Lord reminds us to be thankful. Being thankful increases the peace that passes understanding.

I used to always pray for the Lord to keep the deer in the ditches. On a couple of occasions, they got away from the angels holding them. Then I was thankful that I missed them. I did not ask God what it the world He was thinking! What I did was change my prayers and start thanking God for all the deer in the fields that could not see. I still see one in the ditch once in a while and some even cross in from me. Wow, that is exciting. I really praise the Lord then.

People may see you in the boat in a stormy time. Your calm will keep you from tipping over and will be a good example for them as well. It is always time to give thanks. Happy Thanksgiving.