A Lot to be Thankful For

So...in just over an hour, it will officially be Thanksgiving 2006. My 25th Thanksgiving. I have a ridiculous amount of things to be thankful for, more so than I could possibly list. Things that come to the top of my mind...I have a beautiful and fantastic wife to come home to every day, my own home (even though I own so little of it), a job that I like, parents that love me, a large & diverse group of friends, pretty good health...and the list can go on and on. There are certainly days when I take these things for granted, sometimes all at once. It's a shame. But the thing in life I'm most thankful for is the grace that has been given to me by God through the death of his only Son -- and as a result, I no longer have to fear death, for it is powerless against my soul. God could have allowed both of my lungs to collapse (instead of just the one) that day on the football field a little over 8 years ago and could have allowed me to die right there -- a self-righteous teenager who had never lived a day in his life for the glory of God. But no, instead, I was given life and a victory like no other. And for that, I am truly thankful.

Isaiah 25:8-9 - "He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.""

Hosea 13:14 - "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?

1 Corinthians 15:54-58 - "When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

The bottom line is that God has done what he said he would. He has swallowed up death forever, ransomed me from the power of the grave, and redeemed me from death. Death, you truly have no victory and no sting. Christ has the victory, and he shares it with me. How do I know this? Because I can sit with confidence tonight saying "Surely this is my God; I trusted in him, and he saved me. This is the LORD, I trusted in him; let me rejoice and be glad in his salvation." Why did I stop trusting in myself and start trusting in God? Well, for starters, I must deny all credit and completely bow to the grace of God working in my life. And also, what human holds the keys to life and death? Not me. Not you. Not anyone. Only God. And he has paved the way to eternal life with the blood of his own Son. Let us trust that love and truly be thankful when we receive it.