Embrace God’s Abundance This Thanksgiving

Posted on Nov 28, 2019 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Gene Skinner

Nestled in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the offices of Harvest House Publishers are a short drive from breathtaking waterfalls in the Cascade Range. Every time I stand in the spray of one of these roaring beauties, I marvel at the constant torrent of water. How many thousands of gallons of water tumble down every minute of every day, year after year? I can’t imagine.

An equally short drive in the opposite direction leads to the beautiful Oregon coast. Wiggling my toes in the sand, I wonder…how many grains am I looking at? The vast Pacific Ocean stretches seemingly forever…how many tons of water does it hold? The numbers are too big to fit in my little mind.

All around us, creation displays the infinite God. The Bible makes clear (and my own bumbling, stumbling experience confirms) that God’s reservoir of love, mercy, and forgiveness is wider than the Pacific. Regardless of how often I test God’s patience, His thundering river of grace never runs dry. The spray of new mercies splash all over me every minute of every day, year after year.

On Thanksgiving Day, as family and friends gather to celebrate God’s provision and the blessing of the harvest, I feel a little like I do standing beside one of those booming waterfalls or the pounding Pacific. Compared to God’s incomprehensible resources and His delight to share them with us, my petty worries and self-centered irritations are ridiculously small. If I stand in reverential awe long enough, I get drenched in a deep sense of gratitude and peace.

This Thanksgiving, I pray that that my mind-altering gaze at God’s abundance won’t end with me. Just imagine how our awareness of God’s superabundance can transform our everyday relationships! When we stand in dazed wonder at God’s lovingkindness toward us, we are more likely to let it flow through us. A day of thanksgiving reminds us that there is always more than enough love to go around, more than enough mercy for everyone, more than enough forgiveness for every offense, more than enough grace for every needy soul.

Of course, maintaining this worldview of abundance isn’t always easy. My own capacity to forgive quickly gets tapped out, so sometimes I withhold compassion. Rather than living every day with a sense of God’s never-ending supply, I get distracted by my own limited resources. When my soul is dry, I see scarcity all around.

So back I go to the base of the waterfall, and the heavy mist of grace once again washes over my face. I stand again on the rocky shoreline, and the pounding concussion of waves of mercy reverberate in my chest. It’s just too much to contain, and every now and then God’s abundance spills out of me. In spite of myself, I forgive. Almost without thinking, I show mercy.

God, on this Thanksgiving, we celebrate Your abundance. Help us live in Your extravagant love, knowing there is always more than enough to share.