A Different Kind of Thanksgiving!

Editor’s Note: Today we are privileged to have another guest author – our own vigilant Prayer Warriors Captain, Shawn Smith. Enjoy!

I was speaking to my best friend the other day and we were discussing our Thanksgiving plans. She made mention that this was a different kind of Thanksgiving and I agreed. Usually, we both travel to our hometown and spend the holiday with our families and each other. Our plans changed this year. Because of the pandemic and the state in which our country is in, our movement is limited.

There are over 40 states that are in the ‘red zone’ for Covid-19 cases. The number of cases are so high that there are many restrictions in place. School classes are virtual, restaurants are take-out only, there are city curfews, gatherings are to be 10 people or less, masks and social distancing are required in public at all times and only essential businesses are open. So yes, today IS quite different than any other Thanksgiving but what’ is NOT different is God’s promises.

God’s promises never change. They’re always the same. Although I thank God for all of my blessings every day, I can’t help but to focus on His promise to heal on this Thanksgiving day. This virus has touched a dozen of my family members and close friends, yet I praise Him for sparing the lives that He did because He didn’t have to.

"He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases."

Psalms 103:3 NLT

So, I know that a vaccine is coming.

"I will give you back your health and heal your wounds," says the Lord….’""

Jeremiah 30:17 NLT

So, I can pray with the expectation that my family and friends who are sick will be healed 100%. Istand on these promises because my God cannot lie.

Now, in my prayer time, I find myself being a little more specific when it comes to my health. I thank Him for breath in my body. I’m thankful that when I inhale and exhale that my lungs expand and then condense like they’re supposed to. I thank Him for the use of my senses. I’m thankful that I can see, touch, smell, taste and hear. I thank Him for my heart. I’m thankful that it’s pumping blood through my whole body. I thank Him for my brain. I’m thankful that my cerebrum, my cerebellum and my brainstem are all working properly.

I may not have been able to spend Thanksgiving with all of my family and friends as we normally do, but I thank my God that we are all alive and safe.

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20 NIV

God Bless,

Shawn Smith