revelation [ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən]
n
1. the act or process of disclosing something previously secret or obscure, esp something true
2. a fact disclosed or revealed, esp in a dramatic or surprising way
3. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) (Christian Religious Writings / Bible) Christianity
a. God's disclosure of his own nature and his purpose for mankind, esp through the words of human intermediaries
b. something in which such a divine disclosure is contained, such as the Bible
[from Church Latin revēlātiō from Latin revēlāre to reveal]
revelational adj
I love the word revelation because it always seems to fit so perfectly with what I hear from God during my time with Him. He is always revealing truth in such an obvious way through many different sources, and there is never any denying when it is something that has been truly revealed from the Lord rather than my own thoughts. It's amazing how God always seems to weave together so intricately the fabric of my life. When God gives me a revelation, it seems there is continuous confirmation, affirmation, and an all-around sense of perfect timing that comes along with it. This latest truth that I have felt in my life is to be truly thankful. Thankful for what I do have, for what I don't have, for the good, for the bad. I feel God leading me to be thankful for every single aspect of my life no matter how small and no matter how hard it may sometimes seem. I am to be thankful for it all because my life has been woven together specifically for me by the Creator and Master of the universe, and He has woven it together to work out not only for my best interests, but for the best interests of the Kingdom.
This leads into confirmation #1, which just so happened to come only one day after I felt the Lord leading me to this heart of Thanksgiving. Since beginning this blogging adventure I have discovered an entire world of encouraging, godly women. One of whom challenges her readers to write 7 things you are thankful for every day (you can find a printable booklet for the week here or just use your own notebook or journal) with the goal of continuing on to 1,000 things and beyond as it becomes a habit in our daily lives. I would like to get to 1,000 things, which at 7 a day means it will take around 6 months. And as I began to think about this challenge I realized that today marks 25 days until Thanksgiving! I don't know about you, but when things like that happen it just leaves me breathless. What perfect timing to begin counting down the things I am thankful for! And with 25 days until Thanksgiving my goal is to reach 250 things (1/4 of the way to my total goal of 1,000) by recording every day 10 things that I have to be thankful for. I know in the beginning it will be easy with obvious things like my beautiful home, my amazing family, a great group of godly friends, etc, but I can't wait until I get to the point where I will be forced to start thanking God for the not-so-nice things in my life like our budget (which is very tight, but has never failed us) or like my son's autism (which has been a great blessing to us, but also one of our greatest challenges) or the not-so-obvious things that I think of every day. I can't wait until I get to the point where it truly becomes natural to begin thanking God for everything: the good, the bad, and the ugly (like these crazy grey hairs I am beginning to get!) God is calling us to be thankful for every single aspect of our lives, whether we feel like it or not. We are to be thankful knowing He is in control and He has it all planned out!
Matthew 6:25-34
25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink ; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing ?26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life ?28"And why are you worried about clothing ? Observe how the lilies of the field grow ; they do not toil nor do they spin,29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith !31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will wear for clothing?'32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things ; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.34"So do not worry about tomorrow ; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
What do you have to be thankful for? What things has God given you that you refuse to think of as blessings? How often do you feel God's blessings have passed over you and on to someone else? Take this challenge with me as I journey to 1,000 things to be thankful for!
UPDATE: Check out where God has led me as I continue on this journey Day 8. Day 20 and my realization of such a Gracious Thanksgiving.
This was a beautiful post! I think I would benefit greatly from listing 1000 things I'm grateful for since I can take so much for granted and the evil one is so good at discouraging me!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in with NOBH! So glad to have you link up! Did you know that NOBH has been nominated for the Homeschool Blog Awards in the "Best Family/Group Blog". Go to the NOBH home page (http://noordinarybloghop.blogs... ) to find out how you can vote for our hop if you feel lead to do so! Thanks! Tracy at "A Slice of Smith Life"