“The soul needs a future.”

A thought by John Ortberg (2014-04-22) from his book, Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 112). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I think that is an important thought for us to realize on this Thanksgiving Day. I like how John puts it, “God planted eternity in our hearts so that we would not stop seeking life beyond ourselves.” That is why the act of giving thanks no matter your situation is so necessary in handling life. Our soul wants you to understand that this is not the end, we have a future.

We are going to spend time with one set of our kids today. Now I don’t think that Margaret will remember all the pain that had happened when Brett was born or our daughter in-law, Marissa will think about the pain when Ashlyn and Addison were each born. Yes there was great pain in the moment, terrible pain but as John says, “What starts in pain, ends in joy.” I know they are so thankful for the lives through their pain that they brought into this world. Our kids have brought such joy and we are so thankful for them.

Understand that the soul needs a future, you need a future. The difficulty that you may be going through right now is not the end. That is where thanksgiving comes in and that is where hope lifts us to a new level.

So let’s stop and be thankful for what is ahead. John says, “To paraphrase a line from a movie: There will be great pain, and there will be great joy. In the end, joy wins. So if joy has not yet won, it is not yet the end. Jesus is crucified. The pain is overwhelming — not the end. Jesus is risen — the joy is overwhelming.” And because of His great pain we have an unbelievable future that He has gone to prepare for those who believe in Him.

So what are you thankful for today?

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