Loving Merciful God, We give You thanks for the creation of this world; it is a wonder and a blessing which should give us pause to offer You thanks. Creator, we are blessed by such little-big things as the air we breathe and the water we drink, these little-big things that fill our lives with the elements of living, but are commonly overlooked for we do not always stop to think about the wonders of the world which are working. We know that in Your time and space all will been done to fulfill Your glory, Your plans for us. We are reminded by Your Word in the Scripture 1Thessalonians 5:18 to be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all things for this was Your will for us in Christ Jesus.
It is the daily bread of our lives, the everyday comings and goings, were we must pause to give You thanks. We find this a hard task to do in this present day as we are ever mindful of suffering, pain, sorrow, violence, addictions, greed, universal poverty, incurable diseases, mounting cost, dissenting view points, depression, and very day busy-ness of our lives. We are lost in the endless fear of losing yet another family member or friend. We watch endless newscasts about other people suffering and it is all more than we can bear. We find that our voices matter little to others or we are afraid that we will be heard and have to make time to do the work You are calling us to carry out. We also find that we are held captive to our lives and cannot be thankful for all circumstances. Some of us are carrying around decades old anger and fear which we cannot begin to excavate ourselves from nor find any reason to give thanks or forgiveness. Where is the time to continually be joyful, to pray, to be thankful?
We need Your love and guidance now the same as all Your children throughout the generations has need it. We need, in this season of Your creation to slow us down, giving us the chance to pause in thanksgiving and waiting for the Advent for Christ’s coming into our lives to give us a turning point into even more thankfulness and forgiveness. Help us to be thankful for the chance we are given still to ask for and receive forgiveness. Help us God to truly lift our voices in Praise so that all can hear the wonders of Your world, from the tiniest voices of a baby’s cry to the thundering masses at a sports game, the quiet whispers of hope being uttered over the sickbeds of our nation to the rumbling desert tanks of our solders defending the innocent on distant shores. Help us fill our lives with thanksgiving and forgiveness as we strive for making this time and place the fulfillment of Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Help us to realize that in the act of filling our lives with continuous joy, prayer, and thanksgiving that we are making the choice to take the courage of Christ into our lives so that others may find thanksgiving and forgiveness in their “daily bread.”
We ask all these things in the Your name, O God, as Christ taught us. Amen.
— Rev. Dawna K. Watkins
Area Supply Pastor under care of First Christian Church,
Bluefield
