Daily Lesson for November 20, 2018

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Habakkuk chapter 3 verses 17 and 18:

17 Though the fig tree does not blossom,

   and no fruit is on the vines;

though the produce of the olive fails

   and the fields yield no food;

though the flock is cut off from the fold

   and there is no herd in the stalls, 

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

   I will exult in the God of my salvation.

Today’s Lesson is the text John Newton, writer of the hymn “Amazing Grace”, took as his text on the occasion of his wife Mary’s funeral.

It is a steadfastly and even defiantly faithful word of praise to God.

“though the flock is cut off from the fold

 and there is no herd in the stalls, 

yet I will rejoice in the Lord”

That “yet” makes this a strong and suitable text for the week of Thanksgiving.

It was the year 1863, the Civil War raged on with many hundreds of thousands lives already lost, and the Lincoln family was still in grief over the death of their 12-year-old son Willie. “Yet”, President Lincoln saw things to still be thankful to God for and so issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation.

Paul said, “Give thanks in every circumstance.”  

We give thanks this week. No matter where we are and no matter how much we have or how much we are missing. We give thanks for something. And even though we aren’t where we hoped we’d be, and the losses of loved ones still grieve us, and though maybe the crop didn’t make like it was supposed to, and our political party didn’t win the election, “yet” we still rejoice. For we still have much to be thankful for. And God is still worthy of our praise.