Thanksgiving Confession (1000 Gifts, Vol. 3, #68)

The Sunday after Thanksgiving our church had a testimony service.  I don't know about you, but I tend to squirm at such opportunities, yet at the same time, wonder if I'm quenching the Spirit, and all the while dreading the awkwardness of wondering, "What if no one says anything?" 

The people who stood up were mostly ones I didn't know.

They were definitely not the stalwart leaders whom I had expected would be the first to praise God for His grace.

They did not fit the image of the professional church-goer.

And their lives are not nice and neat.

Their lives are messy. 

They cannot hide the fact that they are still in process.

They know, KNOW, without-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-know that they would not be where they are without Jesus and that they need Him everyday.

One after another, people stood up, went to the front, and gave public thanks for God's work in their hard situations.

The most shy person in the church went up two or three times and spoke powerfully of what God has done.

And I was left wondering ... What about the rest of us?  ... Those who fit the profile of the professional church-goer?  ... Those who try to make our lives look nice and neat?  ... Those who try to cover up the fact that we are still in process?  ... Those who can deceive ourselves into thinking that we DON'T need Jesus every minute, as long as we have our paycheck, our plan, our great abilities?

And so my 1000 gifts list today is a confession of my neediness and His sufficiency:

671. He saw (my need)
672. He came (to my world)
673. He lived (the perfect life I cannot live)
674. He died (the sacrificial death I cannot die)
675. He rose (displaying His power over death, the same power that works in me-!)
676. He lives (continually interceding on my behalf)
677. He saves (from the penalty, power, and presence of sin)
678. He sanctifies (day-by-day, bit-by-bit, ever changing me more into His image)
679. He continues to forgive (as I continue to sin)
680. He is coming again (my hope!)