Thankful Thursday: God is Real

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

This week, I am thankful…

…that three of my dad’s four tumors seem to be taken care of. The fourth one tripled in size since last month, so Dad will have to undergo Gamma Knife Radiation again.

…for Gamma Knife Radiation, and the doctors who are skilled in performing it.

…for getting to stay in bed until ten o’clock this morning – a rarity these days.

…for a husband who is trying to reduce my stress level.

…that coffee is so delicious and comforting.

…that whatever illness my kids caught seems to be short-lived.

…for Compassion International, who linked us up with a precious boy in India over a year ago. The relationship growing between our family and him has become so precious to us! We may not be able to adopt an orphan, but we can care for and love this young boy as though he were one more of our own children.

…for this blog, and its ability to make me look better than I actually am. Seriously people – if you think I’m amazing, you’ve got another think coming.

Last, but not least, I want to add what my Dad shared at the Thanksgiving table this year:

I am thankful that God is real.

That it is He who has determined and set the times and places where we should live and seek Him. That He is in control.

He’s real. God is not just a belief I hold dear, equal to all other beliefs – He is the foundation of all reality, all existence, all being.

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

~1 Thessalonians 17:24-31 (NIV – emphasis mine)

Do with Him what you will. Believe what you will. Just know that your belief has nothing to do with the reality that God exists, and is the source of your own existence. It’s like gravity. Whether you believe in it or not does not change the fact that if you step off the Eiffel Tower, there will be a splat at the bottom.

I am thankful that no matter how I feel on a given day, He is real. He loves us. He has us held safely close to His very heart, and has promised never to let go.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~Matthew 28:20b (NIV)

Iris at Grace Alone is our hostess for this month – stop by her place and be encouraged in thankfulness.

What are you thankful for today?