Thursday November 25, 2021

Today is Thanksgiving Day and we continue to explore what the Bible says about gratitude and thanksgiving. Continue adding to your “gratitude list” and give God thanks for every blessing.

As I enter this quiet time alone with God, I pause and become still. I breathe slowly and deeply and focus my heart and mind on the presence of God.

Pause and Pray

Loving God, I worship you in the quiet stillness on this day set aside for giving thanks. Help me hear the message you have for me today. Speak to me through the power of your Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s goodness and praise him with the words of Psalm 95.

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! Psalm 95:1-3,6

Pause and Pray

Today we will gather around a table of plenty. Delicious food, loving fellowship, abundance, blessings, and joy. Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside to count our blessings and give God thanks. We have a God who is extravagantly generous with us. God is a God of abundance. He lavishly pours out love, grace and forgiveness. God pours out blessings upon us whether we deserve those blessings or not. In return, God merely asks us to be thankful, show our gratitude and be generous with others in return. We are to sow generously into the lives of other people and give away our time, talents and treasure cheerfully. Hear these words from Second Corinthians.

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8,10-11

Today I consider what I have in abundance. Perhaps I have an abundance of time. Maybe I possess a talent or skill. I know how to work with wood, sew, garden, bake, repair things, or cook. I can sing, play music, throw a football, put together a puzzle, write a letter, or wrap a gift. Drawing from my life experience I could be a good mentor, friend, encourager, or coach. I can speak a particular language, read, write, spell, or balance a checkbook. Perhaps I have an abundance of financial resources, more than I need at this time. Maybe I have an abundance of clothing, shoes, coats or blankets I no longer need (or cannot fit into). Perhaps I have an excess of food that I may not consume before the expiration date. Maybe my home as extra rooms that go unused. Today I take stock of what I have in my possession and give God thanks.

Ask: Have I expressed thanks to God for the abundance of my blessings? What do I have in my possession that God may want me to generously share with someone else?

Pause and Pray

Holy and Loving God, thank you for my many blessings. You have sown generously into my life and blessed me abundantly. I have all that I need, in fact I possess more than I need. Remind me that you have supplied me with seeds to sow and bread for food and enriched me in every way so that I can be generous on every occasion. I read Second Corinthians again, listening for the message you have for me today.

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8,10-11

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

I reflect on my many blessings and give God thanks for my health, my home, my family. I am thankful for an abundance of food and the material possessions that make my life easier. I am thankful for my education and accessible health care. When I consider my possessions and the current state of my soul, what words resonate the most with me – words like generous, cheerful, blessed, abundance, abound, goodness, enlarge, enriched, or thankful? Or do these words resonate more with me – sparing, reluctant, selfish, inconsiderate, miserly, meager, decrease, diminish, uncaring? If I am grateful for the abundance of my blessings, am I willing to turn my gratitude into generosity – giving away all I can to others?

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord God, thank you for your constant faithfulness and blessings of abundant love and grace. Help me take stock of all that I have within my grasp, inspire my heart with a lavish outpouring of compassion and motivate me toward a generous and thankful spirit. Amen.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6

As I leave this time of prayer and go throughout my day, I go with renewed inspiration to be thankful and generously share my time, talents and treasure with others. Amen.