A post-Thanksgiving pivot
By Bishop Gary Mueller
That’s why it is a perfect time to make a post-Thanksgiving pivot that changes the basis of your thanks based on how things are going to joyfully giving thanks because it grows out of your relationship with God.
Your relationship with God means you absolutely can count on God’s grace, God’s passionate love, God’s healing, and God’s second chances.
God has the ability to change hearts, and God’s gift of Jesus means nothing that happens in life or in death will ever separate you from God’s love.
Of course, struggles, grief, heartache, tragedies, injustice and pain will continue to take a devastating toll even after you have made a post-Thanksgiving pivot. There’s just no getting away from this fact of life. But something will also fundamentally change.
Life’s most horrible junk will no longer have the final word. In fact, according to the Apostle Paul, it won’t even have a prayer.
Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.
––2 Corinthians 7 The Message
If you had a difficult time giving thanks at Thanksgiving––if you let struggles, grief, heartache, tragedies, injustice and pain have the final word. It’s not too late for you to embrace the fact that God’s love always has the final word.
Go ahead, make the post-Thanksgiving pivot.
Bishop Gary Mueller, vice president
General Commission on UM Men
bishop@arumc.org