A Thanksgiving Thought

Here is a little something for you to think about this Thanksgiving.  We have all heard that we should be thankful for our trials and problems.  But when you are faced with an astronomical issue in your life it can be easy to reject.  It is hard to see anything good, anything worthwhile in the worst times of our lives.  I want you to think about Squanto.

Squanto has an astounding story.  Squanto is certainly an example of someone who endured misery.  He was kidnapped, enslaved, taken far from everything he knew, far from his home and family.  When he did manage to return to his family and tribe, they were gone.  Completely wiped out by diseases brought by the very people who had kidnapped him.  Squanto had endured misery.  But to what end?  Squanto spoke English.  Squanto brought life back to a dying settlement.  He brought education of how to survive, he brought food, to a group of people that were starving and slowly dying out.  He saved the pilgrims – one of the first settlements of our nation.  Squanto will never be ‘just some indian’, he represents blessing from evil, forgiveness, and compassion.  He is historic proof that we can never guess God’s plan in our lives. 

God used this one native, put him through true life horrors, and enabled him to save a nation.  He enabled Squanto to give life to this community that trusted in God, he enabled them to have a bountiful harvest, he enabled them to truly feel what true thanksgiving is.  Can you imagine how much they must have thanked God for sending someone to them who spoke their own language and could teach them how to survive in this new and strange land?  Can you imagine the amount of forgiveness it took for Squanto to help them?  Can you stretch your mind to comprehend how God worked in the lives of Squanto and the pilgrims?  Can you stretch your mind to comprehend how God works in your life?

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD!

Romans 5:3-5  We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment.  For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.