Thanksgiving Challenge: Thanking God For My Can'ts

My Can’ts

I CAN’T do many things. My list of NOTS is long.

I’m not a marathon runner or a dancer or a juggler or a gymnast.

I’m not a singer or a painter or a computer programmer or an architect.

I’m not a neat-nick or a gourmet cook or a master gardener or a seamstress.

I cannot speak any language but English.

I cannot add large numbers in my head.

I cannot remember people’s names until I see them written down somewhere, and even then it is iffy.

My CAN’TS go on and on.

Thanksgiving Challenge

One of the greatest enemies of thankfulness is dissatisfaction. When I concentrate on what I do not have and what I cannot do, I’m accusing my Creator. I mean, couldn’t He have given me a beautiful singing voice?

But what if my CAN’TS are part of His intentional plan? What if my inabilities are part of steering me toward my calling?

Maybe I’ll never know why Jesus didn’t think I needed to be tall or particularly athletic. Maybe this side of heaven my memory struggles will remain a mystery. And that’s okay, because I don’t need to know WHY the Lord withheld particular talents, I just need to THANK HIM for EVERYTHING I cannot do!

Thank Him for My Can’ts?

Yes, I’m actually suggesting we thank Him for every single talent, ability, or tendency you do not have. This is a different kind of challenge because it gets to the core of our trust.

I’m even suggesting we thank Him for what we USED to be able to do, but cannot anymore. Age, illness, injury can all rob of us of previous abilities.

Can I trust the Lord enough to believe He loves me when He allowed these inabilities?

Can I believe His goodness when He bestowed talents on other people that He hasn’t given to me?

Can I trust Him with what He has taken away?

Can I thank Him for my weaknesses and believe that in my very spot of insufficiency He will be strong?

What an extraordinary thought.

Week Four

We’re wrapping up the Thanksgiving Challenge where we’ve purposefully, systematically thanked the Lord for the hard stuff.

For our sorrows and griefs.

For sins others have committed against us.

For mistakes we’ve made.

And now today: for the things we cannot do.

It’s counter-intuitive to praise the Lord for any of these things, but doing so stretches the definition of gratitude past the childish method of counting blessings. Praising the Lord is so much more that being happy for good stuff.

Expressing gratitude for EVERYTHING proclaims trust in the ultimate lovingkindness of Jesus.

Are we only blessed when things hum along, the bills are paid, and we’re ready for vacation?

What about Christians suffering in other parts of the world? Undergoing persecution? Living in wretched conditions with poor sanitation and not enough to eat?

They’re also commanded to be thankful.

But here’s the thing—they seem to be able to do that better than we do in the midst of our abundance. My son returned from a mission trip to Kenya, blown away by the joy of the children there. Many didn’t have shoes and as a result had horrible worms in their feet that the medical team spent hours removing. Then they’d give them one pair of shoes. Just one pair. My son kept remarking how different the kids were there. They had so little material possessions but so much joy. They smiled and laughed and rejoiced in life—a very, very hard life.

I want to live like that.

In Everything Give Thanks

The Thanksgiving Challenge continues past Turkey Day. After the last drop of gravy has been sopped up with a biscuit and we take a big breath trying to make more room for pie, the challenge will continue.

How do we give thanks in everything?

For me, concentrating on thanking the Lord for items I usually complain about has helped me realize how far I am from giving thank for EVERYTHING.

The challenge remains: let’s be the most grateful, thankful people who trust the Lord with our deepest sorrows and most irritating inabilities.

Let’s believe Him ENOUGH to THANK HIM for all of our life— our messy bits as well as our joys.

He is worthy of our praise.
So let’s praise Him.
For everything.

Keep It Up and Write It Down

To pursue gratefulness, I think I’ll keep a thankfulness cross taped up where I can add items as I think of them. Every time I choose to praise instead of complain, to express gratitude instead of argue, to rejoice rather than despair, I’ll write it down.

The picture of the place Jesus sacrificed Himself to bear all my sins and pain is the perfect place to offer my sacrifices of praise.

Want to join me? Sign up below and you’ll receive access to a page with the print out you can use over and over. Let’s keep praising and thanking for EVERYTHING!