Thanksgiving & Gratitude

(∆AX Formal Chapter Devotion: November 23, 2008)

As we sit here together, the end of the semester is drawing to a close. Can you believe it? It seems like such a short time ago that we were first meeting each other or reconnecting with each other after a summer apart. And as I stand here before you, I have a choice: I can either focus on all of the things I have left to tie up before year’s end and the things that have slipped through my fingers, or I can thank our God for His goodness, blessings and grace. I know, how cliché? The weekend before Thanksgiving and I am speaking about gratitude. But shouldn’t it always be the song of our heart? Not just on the third Thursday of each November because we have an amazing spread of food in front of our eyes and tummies.

Let’s try something together. I will give you a second to think about one thing you are thankful for. Let it be the first thing that comes into your head. -----

We have so much to be thankful for, but why do we forget? What keeps us from seeing the many blessings that God has poured out over our lives? Much of the times everything going on distracts us, whether it’s good or bad. Let’s look at a story in the gospel of Luke about some men with leprosy.

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’” – Luke 17:11-19

Each man was healed but only one came back. Each one acted in faith at Christ’s command, but only one understood the significance of Christ’s blessings. The others were too overwhelmed with the idea that they were healed. They had lost focus of the One who did the healing. Not only was the one who returned healed physically, but he was healed spiritually by his faith too.
No matter how small, satan delights in getting our focus off of praising Christ and on to something else. Our circumstances so easily distract us from seeing the blessings that overflow from God’s throne. In 2 Corinthians, Paul understood that.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed… All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” – 2 Corinthians 4:6-9,15

So many times we get caught up in this “me-syndrome” that has us looking through “me-vision” and our problems and circumstances become monumental. Any good thing is dwarfed by disappointment and struggles. But Christ has come to give us laser surgery. He cuts out the selfishness and the short focus, broadens our scope, reshapes our eyes and gives us His vision. It is through His eyes that the struggles of this world begin to shrink because of His all-surpassing power and grace that causes thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

In order to be renewed with “Jesus-vision” we have to first remember just what God has done for us through Christ and why. Our heavenly Father, full of love, knew that this world was going to be broken and chaotic. He knew that we could not do anything on our own and that we were going to center our lives on what we perceived as good. He knew that we were going to trip and fall and sin, but He still loved us. He loved us each so much that He sent Christ as our Savior to redeem the world and reunited us with Him. He sees us now, even when we make mistake after mistake, as what we are because of Christ, not who we are in this world. He created an active and living relationship between Him and us that is free from rules and regulations and responsibilities and expectations. We can never possibly disappoint Him and He continues loving us.

The realization and understanding of this humbles our hearts. We truly recognize that we have nothing without God. We have nothing to offer God, yet He longs to be in a relationship with us so that we can share in His never-ending supply of love. The thought that my Daddy, my Abba Father, would do anything to be in a loving relationship to save me both brings me to my knees and pours humility over my pride, causing me to rejoice with thanksgiving to Him.

Our God has given us the gift of life. He has given us salvation. Scripture declares this:

“Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes,
let him take the free gift of the water of life.” – Revelation 22:17
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith
— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

He has given it to us freely, without expectations and without requirements. What can we do but receive it and thank Him? “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” – Hebrews 12:28-19. In fact, the apostle Paul says it quite frankly in 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Everything the Father blesses us with in addition to salvation is like a cherry on top of a sundae each time. For “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” – James 1:17. Our Father delights to bless us, we just have to begin to recognize it and live in those blessings.

So how do we become thankful? First, we see in Jesus-vision and recognize just how much we need the benefit or the blessing. This happens when we humble ourselves before the Father’s throne realizing our need for His life and salvation to be at work with in us. Then, quite simply, we are moved to express thanks. Thanksgiving is a simple word. It is the act of giving thanks. It is thanks-giving. Begin to express it, both small and large, in the good and bad. Thanksgiving can take so many forms. It is praise to God. It is worship. It is an opportunity to express yourself to your Creator and Savior. The Word tells us to be thankful both to God and among each other. Colossians 3:15-17 -“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Continue to grow in Christ, seeing like Him, living like Him. In everything be thankful. Let it be the overflow of your heart. The more your give thanks to God, whether big or small, the more it becomes the song of your heart. When this happens, circumstances will stop distracting you and overwhelming you. You will be so thankful and focused on Christ that satan will not be able to have a stronghold on your vision or be able to distract you from praising God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” – Colossians 2:6-7

So now, let’s look again at this semester, even this year. What is there to be thankful for? I know I thank God each time I see one of you beautiful young women. It has been a joy to watch Christ transform your lives right before my own eyes. Sure, it has been a crazy semester with everything jam-packed together. But when I stop and finally put on Christ’s eyes, I see miraculous things. I see each of you being pushed and pulled and molded to be more like your Savior each day. I see young women growing and trying new things to the delight of our God. I see our sorority being doubled in size with women who fear the Lord. I see Christ’s love flow freely between each of us. I see us stumble and fall, to only rise to new levels of intimacy with Him. I see a semester pass by in a flash and the year coming to a close while our Father is sitting on the throne delighting in us and dancing over us. I see our living, breathing God orchestrate a marvelous symphony of life that delights and overwhelms my soul to the point where I long to worship Him in awe of the great things He has done.

David’s Prayer from 1 Chronicles 29:10-13:

"Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
You are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you;
You are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”