October | 2022 | Life and Faith

Some time ago, Andrae Crouch penned these words: “How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved, yet You gave to prove Your love for me. The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am, and ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee.“

These words capture the essence of this special time of the year.

God has once again enabled sunshine and rain, soil and seed to work together to provide food that we’re going to need in the coming months. Martin Luther once reminded us that our “daily bread” consists of food and drink, clothing and shoes, houses and farms, money and property and spouses, little children and good government, good weather, peace, good health, good friends and neighbors, and all the rest…. We remember, as Christians, that when all manner of sin overwhelms us, God continues to choose us and bring us near, and for that we give thanks and praise.

Psalm 65 is one of my favorite psalms. The psalmist lifts up the peace that comes at sunset as a time to simply stop and rest in the arms of God, and the psalmist invites us to celebrate the joy of each day’s sunrise as a sign of new beginnings. The psalmist reminds us that God cares for the earth by filling irrigation ditches with water, by softening soil with gentle rain, by blessing the earth with growth and abundance, and even by calming storms and bringing an end to human conflicts. What a wonderful and amazing God we have!

The words of Andrea Crouch are not simply a statement of faith. His words are a question. How can we ever begin to adequately give thanks for the blessings that God has poured into our lives? How can we say thanks to the God who continues to choose us and bring us near when we are overwhelmed by the power of sin? How can we say thanks to the wonderful God who softens the soil with gentle rain and who combines that rain with sunshine, warmth and soil to feed us? How can we begin to thank God for food and drink, clothing and shoes, houses and farms, money and property and spouses, little children and good government, good weather, peace, good health, good friends and neighbors, and all the rest?

The Season of Harvest is a time of the year when we celebrate the incredible power of God at work in our lives and in our world. And the Season of Harvest is also a time when we are challenged to ask ourselves: “How can I give thanks for the things that God has done for me?” All that we are and ever hope to be is the result of God’s power at work in our lives; and our response to God’s love, mercy and bounty is how we give thanks and praise to the God who continues to bless us.

Conflict and hurt are unfortunately common parts of daily living. I’m sure that you’ve lived through times when you were hurt or disappointed by things that other people did. I’m sure that you’ve had times when other people stepped on your toes or talked about you behind your back. We’ve all had times when we’ve been angry enough to strike back. Maybe when you are hurt by other people you withdraw from them, or even walk away.

Forgiveness is never easy; and yet, forgiveness is an important part of our spiritual lives. Forgiveness is something spiritual because we all know that none of us are perfect; and yet, God continues to challenge us to live well with each other. Forgiveness is something spiritual because the Cross of Christ reminds us that, even when we go astray, God continues to give us a chance to do better. Forgiveness is something spiritual because our faith is based upon the teachings of a Man who clearly told us to forgive the people who hurt us even as He was hanging on a Cross. Jesus even taught us to pray: “and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

In Luke 17:1-10, Jesus talks about forgiveness and then, in response to His disciples’ request to “increase our faith,” Jesus speaks about mustard seed faith. It’s not always easy to forgive other people, but Jesus assures us that we can do it with even a little bit of faith. We can forgive others because God has already blessed us with the faith to do it. We can open our hands and let go of our hurts because it only takes a little bit of faith to do it – and we all have at least that much faith! We can let go of anger and live at peace with those who have disappointed us because God give us the ability to do it. We can even go after the deep-seated anger and disappointments in our lives knowing that God wants to release us and set us free to live a better and more peaceful life.

I’ve discovered that there are times when it’s “almost impossible” to let the past be the past; but today, I’m reminded that “almost impossible” means that I can still do it with the help of God. We all need to trust God to help us to do what we cannot do by ourselves. We all need to trust God – the Source of mustard seed faith – to bless us with whatever it is that we need, so that we can open our hands and let go of whatever is weighing us down.

Forgive others as God has forgiven you and trust in the fact that God is giving you the faith – even if it’s only as big as a mustard seed – that you can use to find the peace, calm, rest, and freedom that Jesus wants you to have.