God is great 2008

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Australia. It wouldn't make much sense, seeing as we didn't exactly have any pilgrim fathers arrive on our land and have to survive on candy corn given to us by kindhearted native americans. But the simple act of giving thanks is never out of season, and so I'm really excited about joining in the week-long carnival of Thanksgiving, hosted by my precious friend Abigail.

Here's what she has to say:

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We live in uncertain times. 2008 has held much that I never would have anticipated, and I'm sure you all can say the same. We're not where we were a year ago, nor where we thought we'd be by now. For some of us, the unendurable has occured; dearest dreams have been birthed and died, precious blessings have been given and taken. Some of us have empty seats at the table and great hollows of loneliness in our hearts.

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Yet, through it all, God has been abundantly faithful.

As I was praying about the theme for this year's thankfulness challenge, I kept coming back to this central truth: God is great. Our unspeakably generous Father gives us countless blessings each day, and we do well to receive them gratefully. But these are not gifts to be clutched in sweaty palms, buried under ground, or fearfully weighed as a measurement of how much God loves us at the moment. We must not begin to value the gift more than the Giver, the creation more than the Creator, or the love-token more than the Lover.

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Instead, we joyfully receive the gifts with open hands, lifting our eyes in thanksgiving to the One from whom all blessings flow. He is great, good, merciful, loving, and all-wise - therefore He gives, therefore He withholds, therefore He takes away. Our gratitude, joy, peace, and security rest not in the gifts, but in our confidence in the Giver - a confidence founded securely on the unshakable reality of the cross. When we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us! He who loved us that much will continue to be faithful.

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Will you join me through the week leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, as I praise God's greatness? Starting on Thursday, November 20, I'll be writing daily blog posts, each touching on one of God's attributes that has been especially meaningful to me this year. If you aren't able to write that much, consider participating through your Facebook status, by initiating family discussion around the dinner table - or whatever methods work best for you. The point is to purposefully focus on God's greatness...and to publicly praise Him together. He IS worthy!

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He is totally worthy.

(If you want to join the celebration, go here for more details.)

And stay tuned.