by Bethany Cayton
The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday elicits much
stirring in me. My mind wanders to memories sitting around the
Thanksgiving table, each person saying why they’re thankful. My stomach
growls thinking of my mother’s sweet potato casserole that arguably
could be served as a dessert rather than a side dish. And my back begins
to ache a bit, thinking of our annual family football game that
involves full-on tackling - no flag belts in this family!
But mostly,
the stirring that takes place inside me is one of warmth and richness,
recalling the many reasons I have to be thankful.
Recently I participated in a bible study and the topic of
conversation was joy. One person mentioned how easily we fail to
experience joy in our own lives, and the importance of identifying the
barriers that impede us in living a joy-filled life.
As I sat there and
listened to many of the women share their struggles with living a joy
and peace-filled life, Paul’s words in Colossians 3 came to mind:
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
As I read these words, I am drawn to the role gratitude and
thanksgiving play in the life of the believer. It seems that gratitude
and giving thanks to God is a discipline that leads to a joy- and peace-filled life.
Ultimately, the hope and reason for being thankful lies in
the gospel message, the truth that God gave the best and greatest gift
of his Son so that we might be spared the penalty we deserve and instead
have hope for eternal life.
When we take the time to thank God, we
force ourselves to dwell and think upon the goodness of God, the
character of God and the actions of God.
As we let the gospel message
dwell in us, it pours out from us as we live on mission with God. As we
live on mission with God, we do all things for the glory of God, giving
thanks to him!
I pray this Thanksgiving season
that the peace of Christ would dwell richly among you, the church, and
that your gratitude would stem from a place of deep conviction knowing
the depth of love God has for you.
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This blog post was first published on the National Christian Foundation - Greater Chicago website. Thank you, Bethany, for submitting it!
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