Happy Thanksgiving!

 

There are 138 passages of Scripture on the subject of thanksgiving and some of them are so powerfully worded. 

Colossians 3:17        "And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." 

1Thessalonians 5:18        "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

In EVERYTHING??? I used to read this verse as a daunting, impossible command. I used to chalk it up as one of those verses in the Bible that I'll just rely on Christ's blood to cover me because I know I'll never live up to THAT! Now, though, I read it differently. Now, this verse to me is an invitation. If God commands us to give thanks in everything, there is a promise within the command. This verse means that in everything, there is something to be thankful for. God is giving us a key to a mindset that also keeps us connected directly with Him. 

Psalm 100:4 tells us that we enter the gates of His presence with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a gateway, the entryway into the manifest presence of God. That means that thanksgiving is so powerful that it makes this moment, RIGHT NOW, a sanctuary with God. "In everything give thanks" is God's invitation to hunt for thankfulness in every moment, every situation, every opportunity. And as we do that, as we give thanks it is our invitation right back to God to invade every moment, every situation, every opportunity. 

This is no cliche question...where would I be without Him actively present in my life? I do not understand the lives of those who have yet to meet His love and goodness, His Holy Spirit who counsels and comforts, His Son who redeems and intercedes for us. I cannot fathom how different my life would be. A few things I do know is that I would be a crabby, bitter, bossy, arrogant, old adult. If I have any joy, any ability to submit and prefer others, any humility, any amount of child-likeness it is because of His presence. He has changed me. I am not the same person I used to be and I have been given the greatest adventure ever known to man...to know my Creator as intimately as I choose to press in. Where else is this kind of attainable gift offered?

I have much that I am waiting on God to do. I have big, impossible promises that desire fulfillment. Waiting is hard and confusing. Disappointment and unbelief lie at my doorstep on a daily basis. It feels often that my heart and my mind are a war zone over which perspective I will choose to dwell in from moment to moment. It seems, more and more, that thankfulness is my largest weapon to stay with Him and to not quit or grow apathetic, lethargic. Thankfulness is the key to keeping me sharp in discernment. Thankfulness leads me to the place of wisdom. Thankfulness brings trust, peace, joy. Thankfulness leads to contentedness in current circumstances. Thankfulness remembers God's goodness in my past and brings trust that I will experience that goodness again.  And most importantly, thankfulness leads me to the presence of the One. 

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this holiday! But today is no different than yesterday or tomorrow (other than pie!). Today I will hunt in everything for what I can thank God for. Tomorrow I will do the same. 

When Redeemer Ministry School was alive and active many years ago, in my worship class I used to give my students a challenge to write down 1,000 things in 1 trimester of things they were thankful for. It divided out to be about 20 things a day. I was changed by Ann Voskamp's book, A Thousand Gifts, which is where I stole this idea. Oh how they complained about this assignment! You have to really work to find 1,000 things. It very quickly goes beyond the obvious things like family, job, house, food, etc. They had to dig deep. Very soon I was hearing the students draw from what God had done as they struggled for what He was doing right then. So many of them said that this was a life changing experience - they didn't realize how much God has done or given until they dug this deep. They didn't realize His protection, His provision, His hope, His healing, His grace & forgiveness until they practiced thankfulness. Thankfulness magnifies God and shrinks the power and size of our circumstances. 

I dare you to find 1,000 things.