THE TESTIMONY OF THANKSGIVING – 11/13/2020

THE TESTIMONY OF THANKSGIVING
November 13, 2020

Prayer: Lord, help me to celebrate Thanksgiving every day and that my life and lips would eagerly testify of Your wonderful deeds.

Scripture: Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, O seed of Israel His servant, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! 1 Chronicles 16:8-13 NAS

Giving thanks is a vital part of a Christian’s life. Thankfulness keeps us humble and happy. Giving thanks reminds us of our dependence on God and His generosity towards us. Giving thanks reminds us that we are blessed, no matter what your circumstances, as a child of God you are blessed and if you live in America, you are conditionally better off than a majority of the population in the rest of the world. Psychologists and other scientists continue to prove what the Psalmist said thousands of years ago; a person with a grateful heart and attitude is happier and lives longer. Thankfulness turns your focus towards all the ways you are blessed and lowers your stress. Thanksgiving is our reminder of God’s faithfulness, His daily faithfulness to sustain and even surpass all that you need.

Thanksgiving provides the perfect opportunity to grow your prayer life. I want to encourage you to practice what these verses teach, together, and on your own, this week and next week. This exercise will help form a much needed habit of giving thanks that will help you to focus on the blessing instead of the busyness of the Christmas season. Thanksgiving will lift you up during the months of testing, indoor recess, and challenging weather. Thanksgiving will train your heart and mind to seek the Lord and be glad on all days, because you will constantly be remembering what God has done and live in eager expectation of what He will do today.

Giving thanks sings His praises and speaks of His wonders. Many people are afraid to “witness” to a friend or family member because they do not feel that they have enough knowledge of the Bible to defend their faith or might not have the answers to all of their questions. Thanksgiving makes it easy to share Jesus with other people; it is a daily testimony of His wonderful deeds. No one can deny His blessings in your life, many of us have been a part of ministry or even miracles. Many of you are here today because you were restored from a disease, depression or an addiction. Some of you sit here today as a testimony of just being able to get out of bed and fight disease, depression or addiction for another day in His strength, one minute at a time. Some can share the great restoration of a relationship, some can share the great hope they have that one day a prodigal will come home, unfaithfulness will be healed or communication will be restored.

Prayer lesson to share -As with any lesson, giving thanks and speaking His wonders takes practice. Share with one another one or two things you are thankful for and then continue to tell God all day and throughout the week, “thank you” every time you think of something you are thankful for. Share one testimony of His wonderful deeds in your life. Allow for time for everyone to get to share or make sure that you continue or repeat this activity next week if your school is in session over Thanksgiving week.

Copyright Kathy Branzell.  Email [email protected]