Pastor John D Jakes

This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving. Yet, I wonder how often we really have given thanks. I mean, it is one thing to utter the simple, “Thank you.” It is quite another to truly give thanks. Do we even understand how powerful thanksgiving is? God has said in His Word that refusing to give thanks is part of what leads us to be estranged from Him. (Romans 1:20-21) We are told by God to give thanks in everything. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) And the giving of thanks by one leper astounded Jesus. (Luke 17:12-19)

I think that thanksgiving, like forgiveness, has the power in our spiritual lives that water has in the physical world. Yes, water appears to be just a nice, helpful addition to our world. Yet, water can create and destroy with breath-taking power. We carve rock with water. Ice cracks even the strongest structures. Water fills our bodies and our cells and allows nutrients and energy to pass through us. Water keeps us alive! We take it for granted. Yet, water is one of the strongest forces in the universe.

This is thanksgiving. It sets right our relationship with God. It transforms our thinking and prepares us to see the work of God in the world. Thanksgiving protects us from becoming proud, forgetful, and taking things for granted. May thanksgiving be much more than a single day. May giving God thanks be our every day practice. May we we be truly thankful as we step into the next weeks.

Something to think about,

Pastor John