Thanksgiving Abundance

The Lord is good to all;

          he has compassion on all he has made. . . .

The eyes of all look to you,

          and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand

          and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

-Psalm 145: 9,15,16

Surrounded by abundance, I so often only see the one little thing that I lack. Craving for that one-more-thing is part of our fallen human nature. Instead of trusting God, we assume that we need to fend for ourselves. In that self-protective mode, we seek to accumulate and possess. In our grasping to possess, we fail to see how richly the Almighty has provided for us and see only the one thing we want—which we often do not even need.

It is said that someone asked John D. Rockefeller—the wealthiest man alive at the turn of the 20^th century—how much money it takes to make one happy. His answer was profound: “Just a little bit more.”

If I am looking to be happy in the natural, it will always take “just a little bit more.” Oblivious to my overflowing storehouse of goods and blessings, I will repeatedly turn to the one thing that I believe I lack. Of course, once I gain it, I simply obsess over the next little bauble as it catches my attention, naively assuming that possessing it will somehow bring me final satisfaction and lasting contentment.

No, the only way to get off this hamster wheel on which I am trapped is to shift my focus from what I lack to what has already been given to me—something the advertisers never want me to do! When I consciously, intentionally redirect my mind and heart toward giving thanks for the innumerable blessings in my life, I begin to see the world with new eyes. Our God has cared for the land and enriched it with plenty. He has crowned the year with bounty and drenched our lives with blessing and abundance.

O, let us give thanks!                                                                                  

2014 © Glenn E. Myers