Thanksgiving
10:47 AM
Jean
Smith told me her story. She was in her mid-sixties. She came from
Cwmbran in Wales. She had been blind for sixteen years. She had a white
stick, and a guide dog named Tina. An infection had eaten away at the
retinas and mirrors behind her eyes – they could not be replaced. She
was in constant pain.
Jean
went on a local Alpha Course. They had a day away to focus on the work
of the Holy Spirit. During this time, the pain left. She went to church
the following Sunday to thank God. The minister anointed her with oil.
As she wiped the oil away she could see the communion table. God had
miraculously healed Jean.
She
had not seen her husband for sixteen years. She was surprised at how
white his beard was! Jean had never even seen her daughter-in-law
before. Her six-and-a-half-year-old grandson used to guide her around
the puddles to avoid her getting her feet wet.
He said to her, ‘Who done that Gran?’
She replied, ‘Jesus made me better.’
‘I hope you said thank you, Gran.’
‘I will never stop saying thank you,’ she answered.
She replied, ‘Jesus made me better.’
‘I hope you said thank you, Gran.’
‘I will never stop saying thank you,’ she answered.
Yesterday I read Paul’s encouragement: ‘In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God’ (Philippians 4:6). Today we see him
putting his own instructions into practice. Like Jean, Paul was also
constantly giving thanks to God.
Praise
is giving glory to God for who he is. Thanksgiving is giving glory to
God for what he has done for us. It is the lens through which to view
our entire life. Ultimately, as we see in today’s passages, the world
can be divided into two categories: those who acknowledge God and give
thanks to him, and those who don’t.
Blessings,
Roxanna
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