Every Friday I join a community of bloggers for Five Minute Friday. One word prompt, five minutes. The prompt this week is … Cancel.
Cancel – to make something void; to decide that an event, activity, or celebration will not take place.
So much of our activities, events, and celebrations have been cancelled this year. Even our Thanksgiving is going to look different. We will be following our state’s guidelines and so our gathering will be much smaller in person but remain equally as big in heart.
As I think on all that has been, and will yet be cancelled, a verse comes to mind:
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” (Habakkuk 3:17-18, NLT)
Even though celebrations have been cancelled, our turkey is much smaller, hugs won’t be shared, and the house won’t be as noisy, one thing cannot ever be cancelled – we can still choose to rejoice in the Lord!
We are not the first generation to face hard times, and we won’t be the last. But how we face them, the attitude we hold onto each day, is ours alone to choose.
- I give thanks for my husband, my best friend, who continues to work hard and take care of us all.
- I give thanks for my parents who continue to be examples of perseverance in all things.
- I give thanks for my children and grandchildren who love me and bring me joy.
- I give thanks for my Bible which is readily available to me every day and at all times.
- I give thanks for the Lord, who is ever present and encourages my soul.
Giving thanks has not been cancelled because it is the posture and attitude we make in our hearts.
May we choose to rejoice in the Lord!
May we be joyful in the God of our salvation!
Photo by Ryan Christodoulou on Unsplash
Today I am joining …
That is great! Giving thanks is in our attitude, we can be sad that our gatherings will be different this year but we can still find many things to be thankful for as well. (visiting from FMF #13)
We will all surely be sad for how different our gatherings will be but we can be grateful our God has remain unchanged. May that be our focus this year.
amen!! the joy of our salvation is enough for us to rejoice!! great words!
Thanks is so important yet so easily forgotten in all the changes taken place. Thanks for the reminder to see the blessings God gives each day and the freedom we have in Him
It is so easy to let the negativity overshadow all the blessings God bestows each day. He is good and He is faithful and all that He does is good.
Oh, this is lovely, Joanne. YES. We can rejoice in all circumstances – we have been richly blessed for every day, through eternity. Thank you for this blessing. (Karen, FMF #10)
It’ll be a weird Thanksgiving,
a part of surreal fall,
but hey, we are still living,
and grateful for it all.
Don’t know really which was worse;
elections? COVID festering?
It seemed like that old Chinese curse,
wishing times that would be interesting.
But it seems we’ve gotten through,
well, at least to here,
and if no one’s got the flu
let’s share a cup of cheer
and look ahead to brighter times
(and, perhaps, more graceful rhymes!).
Andrew, may you continue to share your cup of cheer and your graceful rhymes for many more days to come!
Love your thankful list. Gratitude will never be cancelled.
Not ever will gratitude be cancelled. Today I am grateful for the colder weather, a cozy blanket, a mug full of hot coffee and our God who has blessed us beyond measure 🙂
You are so right. It is our attitudes in our hearts thank you and God bless – Loretta fmf #4
That verse in Habakkuk always convicts me. When I think back to the originators of our first Thanksgiving holiday, I am convicted as well that they took time to be thankful in the midst of such hardship. There are always things to be thankful for if we have eyes to see.
Barbara, like you, that verse deeply convicts me. We are not the first to face difficulties and we will not be the last. But may we do so in a way to honor God and teach the next generation to be grateful in all things. You are a blessing!
I’m visiting from Five Minute Friday and am leaving with a source of joy and hope from your post. “Giving thanks has not been cancelled because it is the posture and attitude we make in our hearts.” Loved this quote! Thank you for sharing.
I love Habakkuk! Its an excellent reminder that things are going to be hard. The entire book talks of the hardship and poverty of the people, both spiritually and physically. But the lessons we should take away from that are that, in spite of everything, they Never lost site of God! The had to learn how to seek Him, and how to See and Look for His Miracles!
They had to keep in their remembrance that they were Still the beloved children of God!
And they had to Grow! Learn to see that for every hardship and season, there were those who had it so !Such worse.
It fits in with my anchor verse in 1 Kings, about the barrel of wheat, that though it never overflowed, it Never ran out, And the woman’s oil never ran dry either! This is a very good time and place we’re living in! Its a place were priorities get right, dead things in us get cut and purged, and New vision is given to all who care to see!
We indeed, have a great bounty to be Thankful For!
And God will Never make a government, disease, or season strong enough to keep us from Rejoicing to and for Him!
“Rejoice! Rejoice! For Emmanuel Has Come To Us! For indeed ,We Are Israel!”
Be Blessed, Be a Blessing!
Drea @ Exodus House Ministries.
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In every season, both easy and hard, we can find reason to sing. Your comment brought to mind the song, “Desert Song” > https://youtu.be/CuNCtsm6YvA
Amen Joann, so beautifully spoken. One thing that will not be cancelled is our rejoicing in the Lord. Blessings.. Visit from FMF#8