Feeling Thankful?

Unfortunately, many of us are not. Despite our many blessings and the privileges we have all enjoyed, a spirit of want has consumed our daily living. Instead of being content with what we have, we instead yearn for more. It doesn’t help that we are bombarded daily with advertisements and slogans that are designed to sell us the latest and greatest of whatever it is that the retailers have decided we need.  And so, we clamor for the latest gadget and line up in droves for a Friday sale or the even more appropriately named, Midnight Madness.

If you’re ever in a real survival situation, you will want to be safely bedded down in a warm cozy shelter at midnight, with the fire burning cheerily, the fire wood cut and stacked and hopefully your belly full with some delicious wild edibles.

It’s interesting that whenever we go into the back country, our modern needs begin to diminish and fade away. We concern ourselves with the basics. Fire, water, shelter, food and a good night’s rest. We don’t need a whole garage full of power tools, no, just a simple knife, a fire starter and a container for boiling and carrying water and we would feel rich. Many have found themselves in desperate conditions with far less, tool wise, and still managed to make the best of it as well as survive to tell the tale!

So what is this driving ambition to have more? Is it just our insatiable appetite for things? Are we really that materialistic, or are we actually trying to fill a void inside us that cannot be filled by that which we can touch, taste or feel? Many of us feel hollowed out by life, yet filled with stress, empty of soul but full of pain. We live lives full of busyness and daily purposes which are truly legitimate, but at the same time let our dreams wither on the vine.

Sometimes we just have to go ahead and take that trip, risk that venture, climb a mountain, cross a sea or endure a desert to find what we are truly looking for. Satisfaction. Happiness. Fulfillment. Our self. God.

One person, who had survived three shipwrecks, being stoned and left for dead, beaten severely three times with rods by his enemies, often journeying into dangerous areas and facing perils of thieves, perils in the city and the wilderness, in weariness and painfulness, in hunger and thirst, in cold and with insufficient clothing, said that having food and clothing, we should be content. And, he had even learned by his vast experiences that in whatever condition he found himself in, he could be content.

This person was, of course, none other than the Apostle Paul. We often think of him as a great and wise teacher and a writer of nearly half the New Testament, but rarely do we think of him as he was on the island of Malta, wet and weary, having survived a shipwreck that day with 275 other people, yet still going out and gathering sticks for the fire to warm and dry himself and the others out,  a real survivor and an example of how to unselfishly serve others.

Spiritually speaking, this is the secret to the satisfied, contented life; serving God and serving others.  There’s a reason why we say that the smallest package is a person who is all wrapped up in them self, it’s because it’s true!  Only by getting out of our comfort zone, daring to dream and putting God and others ahead of us will we ever find what we’re looking for.

So fill your life with adventure and purpose, not more plastic stuff! Dream big and make it happen. Step out in faith and confidence and do something that has deep meaning and lasting worth.  And while you’re at it, pack light, enjoy the trip and spend time reflecting on what really matters. And, you may just find that you have many things for which you can be truly thankful.

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Thanks for reading!

James B