Mustard Seed Thoughts #18

The month of November ends with the Thanksgiving Day for the Americans. They celebrate this day in remembrance of the goodness of God. It is an old tradition that is accompanied by feasting: turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie etc.. It is always good to give thanks to God as we remember His grace and mercy. The Jews begin the day by giving thanks to God with this sentence “ This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. “ This is a powerful declaration as it changes our perspective in life. Every day is a special day for us: a day of blessings and miracles …if we can see it. Someone said ‘The miracles are outside your door. Step out and you will find them there.’ We need to step outside.

We think about gratitude when we think about thanksgiving. We must always be grateful for all that we have received from God. At times, the situation may look bleak but God is still in it and is molding us through it. The song written by Andre Crouch ‘To God Be The Glory’ speaks about gratitude. The opening sentence ..’ How can I say thanks for all the things You have done for me..’ is powerful. We must always keep our eyes on God, see the things He has done and is doing for us.

The epistles are full of gratitude and thanksgiving towards God. Paul uses these words in his writings.. ‘thanks’, ‘thankfulness’, ‘thankful’ or ‘thanksgiving’. He reminds his readers to keep this attitude of gratitude always. In Colossians 1:12-14 it reads:
“ Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins.. “

This is one great passage of scripture as to why we need to be thankful to God at all times. We are now partakers of His inheritance because He has delivered us from darkness. We stand righteous before Him because of the blood of Christ. We are free, clean and have access into His kingdom.
In the writings of Paul, there are 3 powerful reasons why we must be thankful:

1. Peace of God Col 3:15 – We have this peace because we have made peace with God. This is the most important asset in a tumultuous world. Anxiety, stress, confusion, disappointment, disillusionment etc have driven many people to problems including insanity and depression. This peace makes the difference for us.
2. Power of God 1 Cor15:57- We thank God because we have victory over every circumstance and situation because of Jesus Christ. The power of God in us enables us to overcome.
3. Possession of God 2 Cor 9:15- We have been given the greatest possession of God – His Son. Because of this, we are heirs of the Father and recipients of His grace and blessings. Heaven’s resources are ours because of the Cross. We thank God because of Jesus Christ.

In this season of thanksgiving, we are reminded to be grateful to God. We have been blessed and continue to be blessed. When we change our attitude and perspective, we will begin to see God working the miracles for us day by day. Let us remember always to ‘give thanks with a grateful heart’…