The Power of Thanksgiving

There are practices in Christianity that seems rudimentary on the surface. They seem so routine for us we may overlook the power these practices actually have; for example, blessing our food, praying for illness, worship, or in this case, speaking thanksgiving. All of these practices are encouraged in scripture to do regularly without clearly explaining the physical or spiritual benefits of it.

Thankful in the greek is eucharistos (where we get eucharist). Thanksgiving in the strong's dictionary is an active, grateful language. Within this greek word is charis which means grace, and the derivative of charis is chara which means joy. In Luke 22:19, Jesus broke the bread representing His body and gave thanks and gave it to the disciples. With joy, he knew the gift of grace He was about to give and for that He gave eucharistos, thanks. "...knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more peoples it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God," 2 Corinthians 4:15-15.

I want to testify to the power of thanksgiving and how it has carried me these last few months. How it has helped me to maintain joy. How it has helped me remain rooted in my faith. For many of us, the battle of faith takes place in our minds not in the circumstance. Meaning, we can't control what happens, but we can control how we react and how we perceive it. Take a second to think about how you react. How you cope. How long you decide to dwell on a temporal issue instead of being consumed by the eternal reality that is the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is our job to know the Word so we can discern/prune our thoughts. I believe a healthy mind is the beginning of a healthy tongue. During quarantine, my mind was challenged.

JJ and I have had to face new challenged in our faith. In March, we found out we were not going overseas and have been on quarantine since then. There is very little time in the past 4 months that we were not on quarantine. Imagine two people with a vision as big as ours stuck in a room. You know the feeling, you are lived it too during COVID! To top that, we both caught COVID-19. Also, our insurance threw us in a loop of stress the week we found out I was pregnant as we began setting appointments. We traveled to Florida for my first ultrasound that had been scheduled for weeks just to be cancelled on the day before because my recurring positive COVID test. For weeks I tested positive and for weeks my family in Florida would not see me. I felt like a modern day leper, outcasted to the outskirts of the camp and unclean for society.

I was what the CDC calls a "recurring positive patient." According to the CDC and symptom-based testing, I was not contagious and a little threat to society. I followed all the rules the health department gave me, but the hospitals rules and the rules of society heavily differed from the CDC. Fear of this unknown curse is tearing through the lives of people all around the world. Immersing back into society, JJ and I had to consider all best cultural practices. I was thankful for my husband who reminded me of the blog I wrote a few months prior, that I need to be sensitive to what people had faith for and love them in that spot. Through the guidance of God's grace, I respected people's boundaries and did not push them.

The story that was read recently at my church that made me laugh was in Luke 17:11-19. There are 10 lepers and Jesus cleanses them and after they are healed he tells them to go to the high priest (according to Jewish standards) so they can be declared clean again. The moment the high priest declared them clean was the moment they could reenter society. The moment my pastor gave me a hug in spite of what has been happening was that moment for me. It was nice to be treated clean. One of the nine lepers in the story did what was right in Jesus's eyes..."then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus's feet, giving him thanks."

In moments where the world overwhelms me, I stop listening to it and I give thanks to God instead. I shut my eyes and I think about God, my new creation life, and for everything He has given me. During COVID I would give this praise, "I am so thankful I know you God. So many people do not know you, but I know the truth. I am so thankful for my husband, I am so undeserving of such a good man but here he is...loving me everyday. Thank you for our baby. Thank you for our health! With JJ having asthma and me being pregnant...this could have been a lot worse. Thank you Jesus for protecting our family! Thank you for providing for us. Thank you for our ministry. Thank you for our lives."

Then I look around and I remember....hmmm, I might not be in Zambia as planned but I am a mile from the beach. How blessed are we, what a dreamy place to social distance. We keep receiving groceries super cheap. Trader Joes is right next door. The hospital eventually bent their policy to give me an ultrasound, what a victory! We have not had one partner drop off in this economic turn, we actually have gained new partners! We are so happy. So blessed. Then it happens...my mind is back in a healthy pattern. The things that stressed me out no longer has power over me. It felt as if my thanksgiving was how I physically released my burdens. When Jesus tells us to cast our burdens upon Him, we can accomplish that in many ways. For me, I remember what He has done, I give thanks, and I have confidence He will always take care of me.

Thanksgiving has been my weapon against creeping feelings of anxiety or sadness. It has been the back-hand that set my mind straight and kept me in reality.

In the Old Testament, there were five types of offerings or sacrifices that the Jewish people would do: guilt offering, sin offering, burnt offering, meal offering, and peace offering. According to my research of Jewish tradition, a peace offering was done to thank God for His generosity, to give thanks for a fulfilled vow, or to give thanks for deliverance. It was all done out of thanks. "And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the Lord. If he offers it for a thanksgiving then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice...," Leviticus 7:11a. This was not the only way Jews gave thanks in the Old Testament. There are examples outside of sacrifices that are reflective of a new covenant lifestyle! In 1 Chronicles 16 and 2 Chronicles 5, a song of thanksgiving broke out for the presence of God (the ark of the covenant) entering the tent and the temple. When the ark entered the temple, the trumpeters and singers gave praise and the house was filled with a cloud of glory filled the room. The ministers could not even stand! Have you ever felt that? The presence of God so thick you can't even stand? Not saying this to brag, saying it to tell you it is possible...I have and it is the best feeling I have ever experienced. It all starts with praise. It all starts with thanksgiving.

1 Chronicles 16:8-10

"Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!

Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works!

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!"

Our offerings in the New Testament is not animals, it is our lives. We give God our lives as He gave His life for us. We do it through faith in thanksgiving.

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"For it (our afflictions and comfort) is all for your sake, so that as grace extended more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God," 2 Corinthians 4:15.

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving," Colossians 4:2.