Thanks Giving
I thank my God every time I remember you.
Philippians 1:3
Thanksgiving season is here, and across the country, pastors will preach sermons pointing out the need for Christ-followers to be thankful people. Much of this call for thanksgiving will be vertical in focus…worship-oriented, God-directed, and rightly so.
Consider these scriptural exhortations:
“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.” Ps. 95:1-3
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Ps. 100:4-5
"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever." Ps. 118:29
We would do well to give thanks to God for all the ways He has blessed us. And I hope you will take time during this week to do so.
Make Someone's Day
However, thanksgiving can also have a horizontal focus – for the PEOPLE God has graciously provided. For those relationships that have marked you and enriched you.
The Apostle Paul recognized this as seen in his letter to the Philippians. “I thank my God every time I remember you.” – Philippians 1:3
Can you imagine what that might have meant to those folks? To hear those heartfelt words would have made their day.
How about you? Who do you thank God for? What if, as part of your celebration this week, you would take a few moments and thank God for some of the people in your life who you so value?
Better yet, what if you would follow Paul’s lead and actually tell them how grateful you are for them? Drop them a note. Give them a call. Send them a text. Or actually, tell them face to face.
It doesn’t have to be some big deal. Just to simply say something like this, “As I was reflecting on all the blessings the Lord has given to me, you came to mind.”
And then give a specific example of what you are grateful for, such as, “I’m so thankful for the ways you sacrificed your time and comfort to be there for me” or “I’m so thankful that you challenged me to dare to dream big.”
Here’s what I’ve come to see. Specific thanksgiving gets far more mileage than general thanksgiving because it brings joy in the present and motivation for the future.
As for me, I’m already building a list of those friends I’m going to contact. And when our family gathers this week, I’m going to single out my wife and children to tell them how I thank God for them.
I think it will be a special moment. Indeed, it might be the highlight of the day.
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