This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. (2 Cor. 9:12)
I RECENTLY READ the book 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Taking the Greek word eucharisteo, which means giving thanks, the author reminds us that Jesus took five loaves and two fish, the total of all that was available. Then blessing and breaking, He distributed them to a crowd of five thousand people on a Judean hillside.
To many, five loaves and two fish are not enough to feed a crowd of that size. But to Jesus, it was enough. Giving thanks for what He had, He gave away all of it. And it was enough. He expects no less from us.
Sometimes it’s easy to give thanks for our blessings, especially when life is good. But when we’re in the middle of a storm, when we’ve spent our resources, when we have no more to give, it’s extremely difficult to give thanks. The blessings seem hidden from view. But this is the time we really live out our faith. It’s in this giving of thanks when others can see no reason for giving thanks that we supply the needs of God’s people. It’s in taking what we have, meager though it may be, and entrusting it in the hands of the Son. For it is only through God’s grace and obedience that we are able to give thanks. And giving thanks is our witness to standing strong in the faith.
Make a daily list of the things you are thankful for; ask God to multiply them for His glory.
Marty Norman is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is an avid reader, loves to hike, and is passionate about mission work.
