Each November, our attention turns to Thanksgiving and memories of holidays spent at Granny’s house surrounded by extended family, eating food and sharing laughs while one or more of the uncles falls asleep on the couch to the soothing background noise of a Detroit Lions football game (I know I’m not the only one). We always stress the need to be thankful, but do we possess a desire to truly be a people FILLED with THANKS? I realize these two concepts may sound the same, but indulge me for a moment, if you will.
On Thanksgiving Day, one issue I encounter is the lack of space on my plate to adequately contain the desired amounts of various foods I want to consume. Inevitably, as I add more food, I reach a point where my plate is so FULL, I risk it running over the edges and onto the table cloth beneath. When I consider the idea of being THANK- FULL, I’m drawn to the imagery of my plate. We certainly can hold a sense of gratitude in our hearts for the many blessings in our lives, but if we are able to contain that gratitude without it running over into our actions, then are we truly FULL of THANKS?
ThankFULL hearts will produce ThankFULL hands. The Bible repeatedly connects the concept of right worship with a heart of Thanksgiving. Psalm 50:23 states, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me.” In Colossians 3:15-17 we read, “…be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” In these passages we see both God’s desire for thankFULLness and our call for heartfelt gratitude to produce thankFULL actions in “whatever you do, in word or deed.”
As thankFULLness originates in our hearts it will overflow into our hands. And this overflow is to be constant, reminding us that every action should be an act of worship toward God.
This month (and every month) my prayer for Eastmont is that we would be THANKFULL, living our lives with open hands spiritually lifted toward God. Rather than claiming to be thankful yet living with our fists clenched tightly, we want to be a church FULL of people with hearts FULL of thanksgiving and hands willing to be used by the LORD for His glory!