“The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.”  (Psalm 85:12)

A big part of the heritage of Thanksgiving is gratitude for God’s provision.   The harvest comes because of rain, even undesirable amounts of it.  There has been a lot of it this year, too much in some places.  

I remember a time in a rain & snow mix when I was hunting elk in Montana with my black powder rifle.   It was quiet walking on the wet ground, and I was able to track the elk, finding myself right in the middle of the herd.   A very large bull stepped out from behind some trees and gave me an opportunity for a 40 yard shot.   I pulled the trigger, anticipating the opportunity to “harvest” some meat.  However, I  heard only the unmistakable “click” with no accompanying explosive power that was supposed to send a bullet down the barrel.  Because my powder was wet, I had a misfire.   The rifle had become ineffective because I had left it unprotected against external influences.  

I wasn’t happy at that moment, but I was thankful later.  Not for harvested meat, but for the deeper lesson that God fed into my soul.

How do you keep your powder dry so that it’s ready to empower a shot when the time comes?   The secret is a tight container with protection from the rains of the world.  Actually, the empowering for us is the Word of God, the substance of things hidden in the container of the Bible, set on fire in the barrel of the heart by the Holy Spirit. 

Tightly contained living Words guarded from the world’s weather and the storms of life will produce a harvest of the deeper kind.    Pulling the trigger on action steps of faith in ministry to other people is something we are built for.   Unlike the weapons of the world, our weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds and pierce hearts with truth.  That kind of harvest builds thanksgiving.