Why I am Thankful this Year

This nation has just experienced what I consider to be the most disappointing presidential election of my lifetime. Millions of Christians probably agree with me because millions of us prayed and fasted and talked to everyone we knew about the importance of this election. We did everything we knew to do to make certain that our candidate was elected—and we lost. Yet, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I am aware that I have much for which to be thankful.

First, I am thankful that Christians are beginning to appreciate what a wonderful gift God has given us in allowing us to live in these United States. I remember a time when politics was considered a “dirty business” in which Christians should not involve themselves; as a result, Christians did not discuss politics or political issues. I am grateful that Christians now realize that it is both our privilege and our duty to involve ourselves in the political process and to make certain that men and women of integrity are elected.

 

Second, I am thankful that God’s ways are higher than our ways. Many of us, including me, prayed the verses from  II Chronicles 7:14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Most of us, including me, thought that God would allow us to win the election and that things would begin to get better. In light of the events of November 6, however, I now believe that God is doing something far greater than we had envisioned. I am seeing post-election Christians stand up and say, “Enough! We want our country back, and we won’t stop working until we get it!” God does not want to slap a Band-Aid on our land—He wants to heal it.

 

Third, I am thankful that God is always faithful. He admonished us to humble ourselves, to pray, to seek His face, and to turn from our wicked ways—and we did. We spent hours on our knees praying for ourselves, our neighbors, and our nation, and we can be absolutely certain that He has heard those prayers and that He will keep His promise.

Fourth, I am thankful that other Christians continue to join me in praying for our nation. I pray several times a day that God will heal our land and help this nation become the nation that He created it to be and that He will bless Israel so that they can live in quietness and peace. Twitter and Facebook attest to the many others who are holding this nation up before God in their daily prayers. We are praying for healing and revival that will cover the earth.

Fifth, I am thankful that God has a plan for this nation and His people that is far greater than anything we could ever envision for ourselves.

As we approach Thanksgiving I hope that all of us will remember to thank God not only for what He has already done for us but also for what He is now doing for us and what He will do for us in the days to come.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.