Pastor's Blog: Learning To Love Leftovers
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I have always loved leftovers. While many rue the seemingly endless servings of turkey and dressing that post-Thanksgiving meals inevitably bring, I actually look forward to them. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems as if the flavors seep into the turkey and dressing even more and their tastiness somehow is intensified.
I’ll leave that to you to decide for yourself, but I would invite you to reflect on how some things need to be savored again and again for their sustenance to deepen. For example, I feel that way about faith. The more you allow your devotion to permeate every aspect of your existence, the more you see God’s favor showing up in places you would never expect it to be.
The reason I think this so important is because of our prevailing culture’s obsession with the “new.” Yes, we always anticipate fresh expressions of divine blessing, particularly as we approach a New Year. But who’s to say that such expressions require us to discard that which has served us so well, especially when it still has much of value for us to enjoy?
I invite you to give this thought some consideration as you’re pulling out the Thanksgiving leftovers this weekend for perhaps the third or fourth time. Let it give you the chance to think about the sustenance God’s favor has provided you time and again over the course of your life and as you allow Thanksgiving Day to disappear in the distance, think as well as to how your enduring gratitude for what God has served up can position you to find even more enjoyment in it than you ever thought possible.
“Sing to the LORD, you saints of His, praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime” (Psalm 30:4-5).