11/23/2025
As we look about ourselves today, what do we identify as being our distractions from achieving a fullness of faith, and what are those things that bless us most as we seek out the Lord? When we begin our prayers this morning what will we thank God for, and what will we ask Him to help us to overcome? Sometimes we find that we are blessed most with the little things in our lives... and that it is a myriad of small, seemingly insignificant, sins that rob us of the peace and joy of believing that we seek.
“but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
Mark 4:19 ESV
We have so much to be thankful for each day... we have our faith in Jesus Christ, families, God’s Word, knowing how to pray, love, the problems that teach us righteousness, our suffering that draws us closer to Him, His wonderful creation that surrounds us, our inadequacies that make us lean on Him more, and His steady hand in our lives. There are so many reasons to thank God, but as we begin to pray we realize that the things in each of these categories of blessing which come to mind are small things we experience in life...
We give thanks for the Sunday our child placed all of his allowance in the offering plate because he wanted Jesus to have it, we are thankful for the sudden revelation that we received in a scripture we had recited hundreds of times, we thank God for those mornings in prayer when we feel His presence so strong that we can’t help but weep, we thank Him for the enthusiastic hugs of our grandchildren as they say, “I love you”, we thank God for revealing Himself in the face of a homeless man as we buy him lunch, we thank Him for the comfort He provides us with when a loved one passes away, we thank Him for the absolute wonder of a spring morning and a cup of coffee taken outside, and lastly, we thank Him for our inability to solve a problem in a relationship, and for the way He suddenly took care of it when we placed it in His hands. None of these things unlocked the mystery of the world for us, but each one opened the door of our faith a little wider.
When we pray today, let’s not become frustrated as we search for some monumental spiritual happening that we believe worthy of thanking God for, and that the world would say “Wow” to. Instead, let’s give the Lord thanks for those many small things that He has done which seemed so insignificant at the time, but later were recognized as amazing gifts in the spirit. Let’s thank Him for removing the small distractions that have impeded our faith and then thank Him with all our heart for the incredible little happenings that have whispered to us of Him and Jesus without ceasing.
“Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.”
Psalms 123:3 ESV
The little things... the small pebbles that cause us to slip, and the tiny sips of water that refresh us... God is in them all. Let’s give Him thanks, even in our travail, because in everything He blesses us.
“For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:15-16 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for each breath I take that brings me the fragrance of your Son Jesus, and I thank you for each blink of my eye that sharpens my view of His gospel, and your Word. Thank you for the sound of my children and grandchildren who remind me that it is you who is my increase, and thank you for the soft hair of my wife that reminds me of the covenant I made with her, standing before you. All I have, and all that surrounds me is of your creation... and I thank you for it. My thankfulness knows no bounds and wells up from my heart in response to your love and provision for me... it rises in body, spirit, and truth. You are my God, and in you I want not, in you I find peace, in you is life everlasting through your Son Jesus Christ. Holy Father, my words and tears of thanks gush forth like the Gihon Spring and shout to all heaven and earth of your glory, singing of the redemption of Jesus and extoling Him for His cleansing blood. Thank you Father for every gift you have given me and for the spiritual treasure and blessing each one has become within me… Thank you for both large and small. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who inhabits every corner of my life and blesses each, and every, breath of love, mercy, and grace I take.
Hallelujah! And all creation says Amen!
Rich Forbes