Last night I led a Thanksgiving worship service. It was an incredible time of gathering in the name of Jesus Christ and offering up praise and thanksgiving to God through songs, prayer, scripture reading and testimony.

.

Even though I “led” the service I had nothing to do with its quality. God’s Holy Spirit orchestrated the evening.  The songs carried themselves with all of their meaning and tradition. The prayers sprang forth from the humble hearts of those who uttered them. The scripture reading pierced deeply into the fallow hearts of the listeners and the real essence of the gathering was realized in the power of the testimony.  Six people stood before the crowd of worshipers and shared from hearts of gratitude their experience of God’s hand in their lives.  In Revelation 12 it states that the power that defeats the evil one in this world is realized in, “…the blood of the Lamb” and in, “…the word of the testimony.” Need I say more?

.

At one point in the evening celebration my experience changed from a time of thanksgiving and worship to a time of contrition of heart and a deepening of my relationship with God.  Days earlier I had asked a student named Joy (name changed to ensure anonymity) to share her testimony during the upcoming gathering. As Joy stood before the group of 300+ people she shared from her heart a glimpse of her personal struggles and of her trust in and thankfulness to God.

.

Joy is what is called an “OCK” in our school. An “OCK” stands for “Out of Country Kid.” This means that Joy’s parents do not live in South Korea. Most of our OCK students are children of missionaries that live and serve in other places all around the world.  All of our OCK students live in the school dormitory program and are given scholarships by the school for their high school education.

.

Joy's parents are underground missionaries for Jesus Christ in the country of China.  They make very little money and they serve the Lord in very humble circumstances and at times in very dangerous conditions.  Joy shared that it was very difficult being a “missionary kid.”

.

Through tears Joy told of her anger at times towards God and towards her parents.  She didn’t like living most of her growing up years away from her family. She shared of the resentment she felt at times toward her father and mother because of the time and attention that they gave to so many others and yet they didn’t take time to be with her.  Joy shared of the frustration of having no money to buy the clothes and the nice things that others around her had.

.

Joy is a high school senior and is now looking ahead to college.  Joy wants to go to a reputable school and receive a good education so that she might serve God with her life. She is frustrated that before she can even consider applying to attend a university she must first look at the cost of the school and at the scholarships they offer.  She is worried about her future.

.

In the midst of her concerns Joy shared that she has so much to be thankful for. Joy is thankful to TCIS for providing for her a high school education when there wasn’t one available in her hometown in China. Joy is thankful for her dorm parents and teachers who have cared for her and encouraged her through the years. Joy shared that she is thankful for her parents and for their lives as missionaries for Jesus. She is proud of them.  Finally, Joy shared that she is thankful to God for caring for her and always being with her. She said that she has come to the conclusion that if God has taken care of her and provided for her up to this point in her life then she is confident that He can take care of university too.

.

At the close of her testimony Joy shared this verse with the gathering:

.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”--James 1:2-4

.

And then she shared, “I am thankful for God and that I am growing in my relationship with Him.”

.

Happy Thanksgiving.