November, 1943
T H B K I N G ' 8 B U 6 I N E S 8
free to go where we like and to wor ship as we desire. Others face nights of terror and days of anxiety as death is raided from the skies; we can still sleep undisturbed in our beds. Other nations are bein% overrun by cruel hordes who rape their women, pillage their homes, and destroy their posses sions; we are still unmolested. And having such envied blessings, we dare not complain as we are rationed, called upon to pay heavièr taxes, and made to endure niinor Inconveniences. As Thanksgiving Day Comes round, there will still be turkey to eat and nuts to chew. When, in 1621, the first Thanksgiving took place in thè Ply mouth Colony, G o v e r n o r William Bradford proclaimed a three-day cele bration. About fifty-five colonists, and one hundred Indians met to feast on fish and a great store of wild turkeys. Bradford later wrote: “Famine once we had— But other things God gave us in full store, A fish and ground nuts to supply our strait, That we might learn on Providence to wait, And know, by bread man lives not in his need.” And as we come to thank God for all, the good things so freely bestowed upon us, let us pray that multitudes who will be thinking of material bene fits only, will coinè to experience the abounding riches of God’s gràcé.. Yes, in a world at war there-is much that Americans can be thankful for. As we pause and think, we ■ praise and thank. ; • » . -~v v j j f l was perfectly calm and controlled. . . . All my need was so abun dantly met in the midst of periL My d o c t o r and his dear; wife came and carried me to -their home and poured God’s oil and- wine for my healing. They, found me in bed untouched after the crash—a most miraculous deliver-’ ance. If Christian people would * only pray and trust for God’s w ill: to be done in them, they would have grace to do the hardest things and nothing to fear.” ::W What, a testimony to the effectiveness of ciod’s peace to guard the soul in the hour of peril and need! Learn to cultivate the h a b i t of prayer, trust, and thanksgiving. Make God your confidant; unbosom your self to Him; tell Him air that, troubles your heart. Do this: “in every thing,” and the peace of Christ will come int<* your heart.
the nations. He has the “more sure world of prophecy” that tells him not to be troubled as he witnesses inter national conflict and collapse. Are you not thankful for the Bible with all its predictions of the coming days, and its pronouncements of de liverance from a creation groaning and travailing in pain? Beloved, let us give heed to God’s Word as it urges us to lift up our hearts and heads, seeing our redemption is at hand. Further, is it hot something to be thankful for when we remember that there is no place where earth’s sor rows are more felt than up in heaven? As separations and graves become more common in the land, there is an increasing need of the ministry of comfort. Do we pray as we ought for those Christians who have found themselves enduring h a r d s h i p as ^slaves or >prisoners of war, or who have suffered the loss of all things but who ■daily seek to comfort and encourage those around them simi larly afflicted but who have no Christ to lean upon?. Knowing that God is putting their tears into His bottle, these suffering saints are thinking of those around who do not enjoy the consolation#"of the gospel. America’s Privilege Here in America, the land of the free, we find our gratitude intensified as we meditate upon the benefits flowing to us from the hand of God. What a God-blessed country this is! Others are starving; we have bread enough and to spare. Others are sub ject to the tyrannical rule of satan- ically inspired dictators; we are-still of the approach of those who come to hurl their explosive and incendiary bombs on "our homes, churches, hos pitals, schools, orphanages, factories, stores. Many believers are proving how strong and real is the guardian peace of Christ in their inner life. Here is a letter from one brave, help less invalid to a friend: "I was in my own dear home and at prayer feeling unutter ably thankful to God that I had no hate for any one in my heart and no fear. In this state of mind I remained, my infirmities not withstanding, the peace of God g u a r d i n g my heart and mind through Christ Jesus . . . Between one and two in the morning, two bombs were dropped on my house with alarming destructive effect; but, helpless though I was, I felt myself to tbe firmly held in the mighty, loving hand of God and
homes, scattered families, h e l l i s h slave camps, the misery, anguish, and fears of those people overrun by brutal forces bent upon spoliation, what re mains to praise God for? As we listen to the moans and groans of the famine stricken, of wo men and children driven like cattle from home and hearth, of those who die terrible deaths on land and sea, does not praise seem a mockery? Sup pose you lived in Greece where dogs and cats, and even rats, are being eaten by a helpless people bled white by heartless intruders, how would you feel? Living as we do in a paradise of plenty, we cannot fully understand the awful destitution of nations where h u n d r e d s daily die indescribable deaths; Abiding Causes for Gratitude Let us honestly face our theme and enumerate some things left to us in a wat-weary world for which we still can give sincere thanks. First of all, we are grateful that we have a God above who is just and righteous. Anxious hearts wonder why He does not intervene and stop this cruel war. Some argue that the sobs and sighs of a blood-sodden earth are not consistent with God’s love. But is it not a matter for heartfelt gratitude that we serve a God who is not indif ferent to the anguish of the innocent? Just as He looked down upon the oppressed Israelites in Egypt and shared in their hardships, for “in all their affliction he was afflicted” (Isa. (63:9), this God of compassion is not indifferent to the cries of multitudes who are under the heel of some of the most bloodthirsty men who ever lived. In a world where solemn pacts and treaties and the sanctities of life are discounted and where might displaces right, it is something to be thankful for that God has not abdicated His righteous throne. Because though the mills of God may grind slowly they yet grind exceeding small, the wicked tormentors of earth will yet be ground to powder. Let us be solemnly grate ful that Psalm 2, with its assurance of divine judgment, is still in the Bible. We can rest assured that our God is righteous and just. Another blessing is to be thankful for God’s changeless Word in a chang ing world. No matter where we turn there is change and decay. And, as civilization crumbles, men’s hearts fail them for fear. We have reached a time when there is distress among nations with perplexity. The minds of the wisest are confused, seeing that their Ideologies and philosophies are being torn to shreds. Rulers, writers, and economists are d e s t i t u t e of authority as they predict the future of this blood-saturated world. The Chris tian, however, is not unnecessarily perturbed by the chaotic condition of !
The Sentinel of Peace [Continued from Page 409]
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs