With a Thankful Heart (our theme for November)
Luke 2: 36 -38 There was also a prophet, Anna…She was of a great age… She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Anna is a symbol of celebrating the moment. She had spent most of her life at the temple, more than 70 years. She sees the young family, Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus and the word of God came to her, “Here is the one, the long awaited Messiah!” She rushed to them giving thanks that she had lived long enough to experience this moment. She then tells others about what God had told her concerning this child. Her words would have had great weight. Anna was called a prophet, one who spoke for God. One of just a few women in the Bible who were called this. I am sure that all who hear her marveled at her words.
Anna was praising God for this moment. There was no regret that she wouldn’t live long enough to see how this baby boy would grow and live out his mission from God. She was happy to experience what she was seeing.
Too often we don’t stop to celebrate those God moments when they come to us. They seem so inconsequential or incomplete. We want more and are less than content with what we have.
I think of the child I witnessed in an ice cream parlor. His parents told him and his sister they could pick a flavor of ice cream for their cone. The sister chose her flavor and was happily eating it while the young boy was standing there undecided. His father asked what was the problem. He said, “If I pick one flavor I will miss out on the rest.” Instead of focusing on what he could have, he looked at all he would lose.
I think that we are sometimes like that boy. We are so focused on what we don’t have that we don’t give thanks for what we have. Anna reminds us that God is at work in our lives in small and sometimes significant ways right now. When this is our focus it is easy to give thanks. Each day brings with it many blessings.
One of the things I do each night before I go to sleep is to list as many blessings as I can think about that happened that day. As each comes to mind I give thanks to God. I don’t focus on the other more challenging things that might be happening in my life or worry about what might come. I pause and like Anna, see how God is at work here and now. I don’t worry about the future, at least in these moments, because I realize how lucky I am to have experienced all I have today.
Let us pray. Thank you God for all the blessings you allow us to experience each day. Help us to celebrate them without regret. AMEN.
This devotional was written by Bill Green and read by Joey Smith.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.
First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
