Thanksgiving Day: A Day of Despair

Welcome to today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler. I'm your host. But we all know who the host of this show is, and that's Christ. Holy Spirit, come have your way in this time that we have together. May they see you and not me, hear you and not me.

May you comfort them when they need comforting the most. May you be with them this day as they sit alone

and apartments, houses all over the country, all over the world as they sit on the streets huddled in the alleyway all alone. Oh God, while many are feasting, oh God, while many are celebrating, oh God, help them to know that you see them, that you remember them, that you remember them, that you're with them. Oh God, help them. Father, help them to draw strength from your wellspring of living water and get up out of that miry pit

and sing your praises cuz we're never alone. We have you, Lord Jesus. We're never alone. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray and declare all things. Amen.

Just sit with that just for a minute. Just sit in his presence. Oh, Holy Spirit, thank you.

That's right. That's right. Just sit there in your despair, your desperation, your loneliness.

He sees you. He knows you were crying out to him, saying, "Father, how much longer? How much longer do I have to be alone?

Why did all those bad things happen to me? Why don't I Why don't I have the fairy tale, the perfect picture that you see all over social media of the families, the turkeys, the gatherings?

Why don't I have it, Father? Why am I lost and broken and so need of repair?

Where's my family? Where's my family? God, many of you are asking so many questions. So many questions. You have such anxiety and worry and fear. And holidays are difficult for you because it reminds you more of what you lost and what you don't have.

But I want you to change your perspective.

I want you to focus on what you do have.

You have a friend in Jesus. You have a friend in Jesus. You have a friend in Jesus. You're never alone when you have Jesus.

Just sit there in that peaceful place. We're just removing that despair, that hopelessness, that sorrow. I want you to focus on that ray of light coming through the window. I want you to get up out of your pit. Get up out of your bed. Get up out of that alleyway.

and follow that little voice that's leading you, guiding you. He's going to guide you today. And you are going to spend Thanksgiving day with Jesus.

We always have a friend in Jesus.

when you have a relationship with him. Truly, truly, I speak to you truly as someone who's been there. You are never alone when you have Jesus. And I know things don't make sense. And I know you've been dealt a raw set of cards. And I don't know why all those bad things happened to you. And I apologize now on behalf of all those people that hurt you.

But you will have that family. You will be that parent that you didn't have.

You will have peace this day. And you will praise him because you will remember all that he brought you out of, how far you've come. Don't focus on what's behind. Don't focus on the darkness back there. Look at the light. Look at how far you've come. You are never alone when you have Jesus. and you just call out to him and say, "Jesus, bring me peace, joy. What do you want me to do today, Jesus? Let me focus on doing your will. Aba Father, like Jesus, Jesus, always focus on doing the will of the father. Aba Father, what would you have me do this day? Direct my steps. Would you have me go to a park,

go to a house of worship that's open?

Call a friend,

sit alone with you and get in the scriptures.

Father, what would you have me do this day? I only want to do your will. What would you have me do this day? You know, when we look to scripture to guide us, you know, and when we're in a a a a lonely, desperate place, a place of despair to where we feel like we've lost all hope. I personally have been there. And in those moments when I couldn't get out of bed, I don't know why, but I would grab my Bible or a Bible that I would have that maybe someone had given me a few weeks before. There always seemed to be one, even the little one in the, you know, in a hotel uh at that time when when Bibles were actually in hotels. But someone would give me one and I would turn to the Psalms because there were so many people in the Psalms, especially David, King David, that poured out his heart when he was so broken and he poured out his heart to God and he helped us to focus on the cross on Jesus where eternal life lives where you're never alone because the moment you take Jesus as your savior you enter into the family

a spiritual family brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus and you are never alone. For I am your sister and you are my brother or I am your sister and you're my sister. You are never alone when you come into the kingdom of God. You're royalty. You matter. You have worth. You have merit. You have a purpose.

So pick yourself up out of that pit. and remember how far you've already come and how much he's already given you and praise him in the middle of your storm. Make thanksgiving day be about praising Jesus. Be about praising Aba Father knowing knowing that his goodness and mercy lasts forever. eternal life. You get to grab hold of that promise now on earth. You don't have to walk in despair or desperation or sorrow or loneliness or rejection. None of those things are your portion. None. So you let go and you let God come into that dark place where you are. And if you don't know how to do that, just grab your Bible or a Bible. Get on your Bible app on your phone. If you can't read it, hit the audio button and let it play to you. Go to Psalm 69. And this the theme of this psalm is a cry of distress in a sea of trouble. We may have to suffer severely for our devotion to God. But that should cause us to look toward forward with joy to the day when evil and injustice will be gone forever. And the author of this was David. Save me, oh God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths where there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters. The floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help. My throat is parched. How many of you been that way? You're crying. You're desperate. But you're calling out for help and you can barely speak and your throat is so dry. My eyes fail looking for my God. Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head. Many are my enemies without cause. Those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal. You know my folly, oh God. My guilt is not hidden from you. May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me. Oh Lord, the Lord Almighty. May those who seek you not be put to shame because of me. How many of you feel shame? Maybe for things you've done. Maybe maybe you're alone this Thanksgiving because you had an affair and your wife left you or your husband and your marriage was your you you have a broken family now, a broken marriage and you're sitting there wallowing in a pit and you're blaming yourself and you you're you're in a pit of self-loathing.

You already asked God to forgive you. You've already asked for forgiveness and he has forgiven you. Jesus came to give life. You're not in condemnation anymore for that. Forgive yourself and know that yes, you will pick yourself up from this and you will move forward.

You will move forward. You will move forward. You've sought help for those addictions that have been destroying you. Don't let this day trigger you to where the shame, the guilt, the fear, the regret, the self-loathing just come at you like a flood and want to drown you. refuse to go down that path and sit in thanksgiving this day with God, with Jesus, with with everything you've been through, how far you've come. And know that this place of misery, of loneliness, of despair is temporary. You are not to dwell in this place. God has more for you. You are to enter the promised land. You will not dwell here this day. You won't do it. God has more. And I'm interceding on your behalf. I'm coming here today on Thanksgiving Day doing this message for you because even if the 99ers say, "God sends me after the one and you are the one. And I've logged on to do this and record this for you this day." Let's keep breathing. Oh God of Israel, for I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother's sons. How many of you have family that you don't see that you're separated from on this day and it's a and it's a reminder and you keep focusing on what you don't have instead of focusing on the family that you do have. Instead of focusing on the abundance that you do have, the devil is trying to take you backwards and get you to a place of lack and sorrow. No, don't go back there. Enjoy the day. Have joy in your heart for today and for the people that are surrounding you that love you. Don't sit in the own in your own isolation, in your own house, in a pit of your own making today. Get out of your head and your thoughts and get into the joy of the moment as family, your new family sits around you, your blended family. And rejoice I say, rejoice I say. Rejoice I say. Rejoice. I am a stranger to my brothers and alien to my mother's sons. For zeal for your house consumes me. And the insults of those who insult you fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn. When I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Those who sit at the gate mock me. And I am the song of the drunkards. But I pray to you, oh Lord. In the time of your favor, in your great love, oh God, answer me with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mire. Do not let me sink. Deliver me from those who hate me from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me. Answer me, oh Lord, out of the goodness of your love. In your great mercy, turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant. Answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me. Redeem me because of my foes. Call out to Jesus and he'll rescue you. You know I am scorned, disgraced, and shamed. All my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless. I look for sympathy, but there was none for my for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. That's Jesus suffering on the cross. He suffered so you don't have to. He came to give you abundant life. He died in your place. He died in your place. You don't have to live in that place of death and that place of spiritual darkness. You get to rise up into all he's called you to be. Get up out of that pit and walk into the abundance he has for you this day. May the table set before them become a stare. May it become a retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them. Let your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted. Let there be no one to dwell in their tents. For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime. Do not let them share in your salvation. May they be blotted out of my book of the book of life and not listed with the righteous. I am in pain and distress. May your salvation, oh God, protect me. I will praise God name and song. I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. The poor will see and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts live. The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them. For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it. The children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there. Those who love his name will dwell there. Let this psalm comfort you. You are not the only one that has been in a pit of despair. You are not the only one that on this day is sitting there desperate and alone. Let's go to Psalm 70 for the director of music of David. a petition. This was an urgent prayer for help. It can be your prayer when you're short on time and long in need. Author David, hasten, oh God, to save me. Oh Lord, come quickly to help me. May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion. May all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. May those who say to me, "Aha, aha, turn back because of their shame." But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted." Yes, I am poor and needy. Come quickly to me, oh God. You are my help and my deliverer. Oh Lord, do not delay. Do not delay. Do not delay. Do not delay.

In Psalm 69:32, as I look at the commentary, when David says, "May your hearts live," he means, "you will feel glad and joyful." Most people want lasting joy and will try almost anything to obtain it. From scrambling for money to being involved in sexual escapades. The only genuine source of happiness is God, and we receive lasting joy only by seeking him. How are you trying to find happiness? Seek God and live as he directs you. And true joy will soon follow. And soon joy will follow. When others disappoint and threaten us, we feel empty as though a part of ourselves has been stolen. When others break the trust we have placed in them, they also break our spirits. All at those empty broken moments, we must join the psalmist in begging God to rush to our aid. He alone can fill our lives with his this his joy. With the psalmist, we should cry out, "Oh Lord, do not delay." And that's looking at Psalm 70. This short psalm was David's plea for God to come quickly with his help. Yet, even in his moment of panic, he did not forget praise. Praise is important because it helps us remember who God is and what he's brought us out of. Often our prayers are filled with a crest for ourselves and others and we forget to thank God for what he's done and to worship him for who he is. Don't take God for granted and treat him as as if he he's not someone there that can deliver you. Even when David was afraid, he praised God. God is with you this day. He is with you in your infirmary. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. And I want you to remember that this day as you sit in his presence

and have peace that surpasses all understanding. He's breaking off that spirit of sorrow, that spirit of fear, that anxiety, and that depression. And he's giving you joy now instead of mourning, and a garment of praise, instead of despair, hope instead of hopelessness. Sit in his peace right now as you feel his presence. As you feel his presence, let him minister to you in that broken place. That place of brokenness, he's with you. He sees you. He's guiding you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He's with you now. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus. Sit and remember. Reflect on all he's done. Remember all he's done. All he's brought you through.

And he's with you now. Even though you can't see it. Even though you can't see it. Go this day. Prosper. Focus on the cross. Focus on Jesus. knowing he's with you. Guiding you into all truth. He's with you now, guiding you into all truth. Sit with him. Rest with him. Rest on the promises of his word. Rest in him for Jesus is in you because you're a believer in Christ. In the mighty name of Jesus, we declare all things and peace this day. Amen.