I Thess. 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Today Todd and I discuss the reality that thanksgiving has been a key spiritual root in our lives.
Todd shares a song that comes to mind from the 80s called “First Love”. It spoke about putting ourselves back in that place where we first came to know Jesus. Pause and be grateful for the moment in time where you started your relationship with Him. Thank Jesus for what He sacrificed for you by dying on the cross.
Name some of the things Jesus saved you from. Then focus on Him and the joy of what He saved you to!
After I encountered Jesus for the first time at camp I was so full of His presence. I came back into the tent with an overflow of gratefulness that just came out as I half shouted, “Jesus is alive!”
Todd shares about how when his daughter Courtney (now Bob’s daughter-in-law) was younger they would pray every night together. Each night they would come up with something new to thank God for, whether eyelashes or eardrums or mustaches! Some of that may seem silly, but then again, every breath is a gift from God!
Sometimes thanksgiving starts as a sacrifice. By choosing to bring the sacrifice of praise it begins to shift our hearts.
In I John 4 it says we love because He first loved us. We didn’t start anything in our relationship with God on our own. He has poured into us so we respond by saying thank you!
As you gather with others on Thanksgiving, take time for everyone to give thanks for something. It can be brief. It will be powerful. Model it for the rest of your family!
