Thanksgiving is in two days.
This sent a jolt of panic just now through those of you hosting family gatherings! Will there be sufficient room in the oven? Did I buy enough potatoes? Will everyone get along?
Others are reading these words in a busy airport, navigating stress and crowds in order to spend the holiday with loved ones.
Still others felt warm inside just now because Thanksgiving—and the moment it provides to pause and thank God for all He has done—is your very favorite holiday.
What if we prepared our hearts for Thanksgiving in a slightly different way this year? What if we thanked God for all we don’t even know He has done? There are innumerable ways God has protected us that we have never seen. Psalm 91:11 says God commands His angels to guard us! I like the NLT version, which says:
“For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.”
As a parent prevents a toddler from getting burned or running into traffic that his little eyes simply do not see, so our God so often protects us, and dispatches His angels to guard us. Yes, we have had heartbreaks and injuries and distress in this broken world—Jesus told us those would come—but think about how many we never had to face simply because He protected or rerouted us with His good, guiding hand.
This idea is the subject of the Day 14 devotion in my latest devotional book Find Hope, which I’m sharing with you in full below as a Thanksgiving encouragement from me to you. May you “find hope” in a God who is always active on your behalf. And perhaps this year around your Thanksgiving tables, you can even spend a few minutes imagining all that God has protected you from that you haven’t been able to see.
Enjoy!
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