Thankful to be a Beggar

Christmas decorations have been in stores since October, and I keep hearing, "Has everyone forgotten Thanksgiving?"

The truth is...

We're a consumer society, but Thanksgiving isn't a commercial holiday.  

And the origins of Thanksgiving relate to food and the harvest.  But we're far removed from relying on a local field to produce what we eat. 

Martin Luther said that, before God, we're all beggars.

And God provides well and abundantly for us beggars.

Remember the adage "Money doesn't grow on trees."  

God is so good, that our food does grow on trees!

The one thing that food needs to grow on those trees, and the thing that our bodies need to survive...water...well, it falls from the sky!

And when I think of water, like a good Lutheran, I think of baptism. 

God's provision for me, for my body and my soul, it's nothing less than miraculous.   

Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.  Psalm 85:11

But, I'm used to His provision; I expect it.  And I forget...I forget His goodness.  I take it for granted.

In Acts, Paul preached one Sabbath and then:

As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath.  Acts 13:42

The people begged for Paul to preach to them.  If I were to be judged by that standard, I wouldn't fair too well.  I don't beg to hear God's Word.

"Give us this day, our daily bread."  That's a prayer for God to provide us with all we need.  God is the great giver.

"You shall have no other Gods before me."  That's a command to look to God for everything and to be thankful to Him.

Those two together, the prayer and the command, they remind me that I'm a beggar before God.  I'm a beggar for all my physical needs - food, clothing, family, everything.  I'm also a beggar for my spiritual needs - my salvation, His Word, prayer.  It's all a gift from Him. 

Since He's the One who provides, my only response, my only act is to be thankful to Him.   

But I don't need decorations in the store to be thankful.  I just need to remember - when I take in food, and when I take in His Word - I need to remember to give thanks.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  Psalm 34:8

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Psalm 81:10b

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!  Psalm 118:1