Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Thankfulness: From Hand to Heart Day 30

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV
   So, this is the only verse in the plan that isn't in Biblical order, and it pained me a little to do that (it really should have been flip-flopped with yesterday's verse to stay in correct order) but I really, really wanted to end with this one.

   It is so perfect for the holiday season, and I'm sure you've seen it used on Christmas cards, but that isn't the only reason why I chose to place it here. It is just exceptionally fitting verse for the end. So, so short, but really the entire motivation behind this thing we do, with the praying and thanking.

I loved this commentary from Chuck Smith:

"So we're talking about giving to God, but yet, you think of what God has given unto us: that unspeakable gift of Jesus Christ. And what was the motive behind it? "God so loved the world that He gave" (John 3:16).
And so the motive behind our giving must be love. Our love for God. And any other motive is not really valid. Give because you love the Lord. Give what you purpose in your heart. What you can give hilariously, that give unto God and God will bless you abundantly for it. So the rule's really about giving. And I want that those rules should apply here." 
    See, that's the thing: we have to have love to be able to give anything, and especially thanks. And that indescribable gift? Well, that's Love, with a Name above all names: Jesus. I can't not put this Scripture here:

"7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us." 1 John 4:7-12 NIV 
    And this is what I want you to take away if you don't ever read any other words I write: if your thanks is based on something you totally understand and can completely describe, and you can do it simply and shortly, and be done with it, you have it all wrong. True thanksgiving-the kind that is an absolute outpouring of gratitude, a flood of gratefulness, appreciation without limit, isn't something you can write out for 30 days and be done with. It demands, He demands, your life, your soul, your all. He is Love, and He came down and He offered Himself and He can live within you. That kind of thanks... there are not enough words or days to ever express it. Because you can't really describe that kind of Gift. You can't put that type of sacrifice into human expression and really imbue it with the meaning it deserves.

   So here is the thing: indescribable gifts deserve endless thanks. Because you can't describe it doesn't mean you give up-it means you have to try every day for all of eternity. Not for 30 days in November, and certainly not for one Thursday a year. Every. Single. Day. For ALL of your life, with every breath if you truly have the slightest grasp of the weight of it.

   This gift...THIS IS LOVE. I can't write poetry, or music, and my words are stilted and limited and feeble. But I am going to keep trying because this is my offering of thanks. This is my sacrifice of praise. To try to share this indescribable gift until one day, perhaps, when I am finally in His presence and He will give me the opportunity to truly give Him the thanks He deserves.

Today's Reflection:
   Give thanks until your words fail you. This gift, it is indescribable, but we are allowed to offer our praise anyway. That is an awe-inspiring privilege, and one we should practice as long as we draw breath. Pray that the Lord will so fill your heart and mind with the awesomeness of that gift that you can't help but thank Him for it each and every day.

Looking for the printable scripture writing plan? Or another day of the "Thankfulness: From Hand to Heart" study? Find them here!

   It's almost Christmas! Another way to praise is through song, and I have a free printable devotional for December: your favorite Christmas carols paired with Scripture to celebrate the season. Find "Sing of His Birth" here

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