Thankfulness: From Hand to Heart Day 12

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love    and His wonderful deeds for mankind," Psalm 107:8 NIV

     It is hard sometimes to think about God's love for the world in light of all of the tragedies that seem to abound at every turn. Lately it seems like there are only reports of devastation and sadness: shootings, earthquakes, hurricanes, wars, illness. Where is the love in that?

   I don't have all the answers-I don't even pretend to have most of them. But this I know: God does love us.

"For God so loved the world He sent His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16 NIV 

    I think what we forget is that the Lord knows everything, but His intention was never to allow these atrocities to fill the world. He created a world full of good, and our sinful nature ruins that every day. However, He is powerful enough that He always overcomes evil with good, and I think that is the thing to be thankful in all this. That we serve a God mighty enough to make every dark thing light (Psalm 139:11-12) is the thing to take hold of, the thing to cling to.

   His mighty deed often is that we are not consumed (Lamentations 3:22), in the midst of all this. His unfailing love ensures that no matter what we pass through, we will emerge victorious.

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-39 NIV

That sounds pretty amazingly wondrous to me. That sounds like never-stopping, never-ceasing, unfailing love to me. That sounds like something to be grateful for.

Today's Reflection:

   From our limited human perspective we can't always see where God is in the midst of tragedy. Today, thank Him for not being stopped by that. Thank Him for performing wondrous deeds and continuing to love us through all kinds of situations and heartaches, and for enabling us to be more than conquerors through faith in Christ. 

Looking for the printable scripture writing plan? Or another day of the "Thankfulness: From Hand to Heart" study? Find them here!