Psalm 16 at Thanksgiving

I come to the Thanksgiving table this year with Psalm 16 on my heart. Overwhelmed with gratefulness for the grace in my life, I name the gifts and praise the Giver with “thank you.”

Even so, David’s words remind me: 

“I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord.
I have no good apart from you.’”

All the good in the world is nothing without God. There is no gain in knowing joy in this life while never knowing the Joy-Giver. There is no profit in collecting the temporal treasures of this world while missing the only true Treasure of our souls. There is no blessing in empty abundance that is void of Fullness Himself.

If Jesus has paid our penalty and conquered death to rescue us from the pit and restore us to a life of joy in God’s presence forever, then there is no good greater than this good!

So I wish to believe what is true this Thanksgiving:

My shelter. My food. My clothing.
I have no good apart from you.
My successes. My career. My financial security.
I have no good apart from you.
My reputation. My friendships. My health.
I have no good apart from you.
My upbringing. My opportunities. My talents.
I have no good apart from you.
My family. My spouse. My children.
I have no good apart from you.

In believing this truth, I am kept from believing the good gifts alone are enough.

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I come to the Thanksgiving table this year with Psalm 16 on my heart. Overwhelmed with sorrow for the burdens in my life, I name the Gift and praise the Giver with  “thank you.”

For David’s words remind me:

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
You hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places...”

All the sadness in the world is nothing with God. There is no pain that compares to the promise of our future. There is no hardship that nullifies our Hope. There is no affliction that is not light in light of the weight of glory set before us.

If Jesus has paid our penalty and conquered death to rescue us from the pit and restore us to a life of joy in His presence forever, then there is no bad greater than this good!

So, I wish to believe what is true this Thanksgiving:

In homelessness. In hunger. In nakedness.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
In loss. In corruption. In poverty.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
In betrayal. In loneliness. In sickness.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
In trauma. In uncertainty. In failure.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
In grief. In abandonment. In heartbreak.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

In believing this truth, I am kept from believing the Good Gift alone is not enough.

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“Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

As I come to the Thanksgiving table, whatever my lot, God holds it. Whatever good or bad is within these boundary lines, so also is the beautiful inheritance He has given me.

And it is the greatest gift of all.

“Heaven is an inheritance. God himself is the inheritance of the saints there, whose everlasting bliss is to enjoy him.”  -- Matthew Henry