Are you like me? I flipped the calendar over this morning and gasped when I saw the word “December” staring at me. December means that there’s lots to do…baking, .shopping, wrapping, decorating, card sending, party attending – and we do it all many times over! It’s enough to get stressed over even on this first day of the month.

It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with the busyness of Christmas and miss the opportunities that lie before us at this special time of year. When we’re out doing the running that our tasks require we need to be looking for souls – not just people. People can get in our way, slow us down and frustrate us. However, when we look for souls that need the message of Christ’s sacrifice we are patient and understanding and see this “interruption” as an opportunity to share the Gospel.

Keep your purse full of good Christmas tracts. Hand one to the person that steps in front of you in line at the store. Give one to the Red Cross bell-ringer, the clerk that waits on you, the waitress, someone sitting next to you at the doctor’s office, and the people that receive your Christmas cards. This is a wonderful time of year to witness, and we have so much to witness about! Christmas is an open opportunity to share the Gospel. Determine to share the Gospel as often as the Lord opens the door. Don’t let the busyness distract you!

While you’re giving thanks for your blessings on this Thanksgiving Day, why not also include thanks for the trials the Lord has brought into your life. We’re are exhorted to “Give thanks always for all things” in I Thessalonians 5:18. While we don’t enjoy the difficulties, it is the hard things that push us to God. They make us realize our own inabilities and His all-sufficiency. It’s hard to say “thank you” for the migraines that I suffer with frequently, but they do remind me that One sweet day when we’re in heaven there will be no more illness, no suffering, no pain and that means NO MIGRAINES! For that I give thanks!

As you thank God for your blessings today, also thank Him for the hard things. He loves you and has sent them into your life to make you more dependent on Him.

When I was about ten years of age the Sunday school department of my church had a contest to see which boy or girl could bring in the most visitors during a set time period. The prize for the winner would be a new bicycle! I was determined to work and bring in my un–churched friends, and I did! At the end of the contest period it was determined that I did indeed have the highest total. I was then awarded my prize…a brand new watch! I’m sure it was a fine watch, but you can only imagine my disappointment! I don’t remember now why they changed the prize, but I do remember the way my heart dropped to my feet. My expectations had been disappointed; I had been let down!

That was a good lesson for me and I’m sure my parents gave me good counsel. I could be thankful for my friends that came to church and heard the Gospel, and I knew the Lord was pleased with that. The greatest lesson, however, comes from the fact that people will disappoint us when we put our expectations on them, but the Lord never will! Psalm 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. When God says He’s going to do something we can bank on the fact that He will do it! We will never be let down when we let Him be our expectation. Husbands, bosses, pastors, family, friends, and Sunday school teachers will all disappoint, because they’re human, but I can look to my God and be sure that I can trust in Him for all that His Word says! That means He will:

• Save all that call on Him – Romans 10:13
• Keep us secure in Christ – Ephesians 2
• Never leave us or forsake us – Hebrews 13:5b,6
• Hear us when we pray – Psalm 34:17
• Reward us for the works we’ve done – I Corinthians 3:13, 14
• Prepare a place for us in heaven – John 14:2,3
• Come and take us home! – I Thessalonians 4:16

The list could go on and on! The truth is that we can trust our God to do what He says. What are you putting your expectations on today? Men will reward a “watch instead of a bicycle,” but God will always deliver!

Recently I heard a young person say, “I never want to get old! It’s so depressing!” The reason for their statement was that they had heard an older person complain, fuss, moan and gripe about everything that was happening around them. It’s easy for any of us to get into a state like that – no matter how young or old we are.

Did you find yourself humming this morning while you were getting ready for the day? Is there a song that is “stuck” in your mind from the weekend? Was it a song of God’s goodness or of praise to Him?

Psalm 59:17 says, Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing; for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy. Even if you’re not a morning person, or even if you can’t carry a tune there should have a song in our heart if we’re saved. Who else could be our strength today? Who else will stand today to defend us when the enemy strikes? Who else will show such mercy as our great God? NO ONE!

“There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one! No not one!”
“What a friend we have in Jesus…”
“No one ever cared for me like Jesus”

What song is on your lips?