You’ve got problems.  You’ve got bad times, and here I am telling you it’s best to give thanks.  Hear me out before you tune me out.  Believe me, I’m hurting along with you.  Many of you are hurting, (and have shared with me your hurts).

In the picture above, I’m doing my best to stay on target.  That splash you see directly in front of the camera is my fly hitting the water.  That’s a bad thing.  It’s not going as planned or as it should.  The purpose of fishing a fly is to hit the target with a gentle throw of the rod and line.  The fly is then supposed to gracefully land on the water as if it were a real live fly.  Not go SPLAT!!  But hey, made the cast and went through all the motions to make it right.  Did I say I went through the motions?  Uh Oh, I’m goin’ through the motions………

Take a breath, count to 10, realize that a day fishin’ is better than a day doin’ anything.  I need to give thanks.  Thank You, Lord.  Thanks for the outdoors, thanks for this opportunity to fish.  Now all of a sudden it seems that I’m not just “goin’ through the motions”, but I’m actually “in the groove.  No more Splat! on the water.

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you 1 Thessalonians 5:12 -22 KJV

How does this relate to you and what’s going wrong in your life?  Take a look at this version from the Message.

^16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 

Those of you out there facing big problems, this fishing example is a feeble attempt to help us understand what this scripture is pointing out.  I should apologize for the feeble attempt, but I will never apologize for what this scripture says.  Give thanks, for this is what God wants.  No, no, don’t give thanks for being in the hospital (Splat), or struggling with a job (Splat), or hurtful relationship (Splat) or current bad event in your life (Splat, splat ,splat).  Don’t look for someone else who is having a worse time than you so that you can say, “Well, it could be worse.  At least I’m not like ole so and so……  But instead, look to God.  Stay on target.

Splat happens.  When it causes us to “go through the motions”, life just got less meaningful.  If we stay on target, life takes on new meaning.  Folks, we are all a  spiritual being living in a temporary physical body.  Yet, we don’t seem to live that way lots of times do we?

It’s Thanksgiving!  Be cheerful (stay on target).  Pray (helps with that target thing).  Thank God no matter what happens (He is the target).

         Lord I pray now for my friends that have Splat going on right now in their lives.  I wish they didn’t have to deal with it.  But I most want to thank You for who You are to us, and what You mean to us.  Thank You that you will be there beside each and every one.  You are a most awesome God.  Thank you for what you do and are going to do!  Help me and my friends not go through the motions because of “Splat”, but stay on target and stay “in the groove” with you. Help us focus on You.  You Lord, are worth living for.

May our Thanksgiving become a ThanksLiving!

See Ya God and friends!!!!!!        Dan Ainsworth  wildernesspreacher