Abundant Thanks to Abundant God

Thanksgiving Day in Canada has come and gone, but as we all know, giving thanks is not about a single day or weekend. Churches around the world give thanks every Sunday as part of their regular worship. Some of us give thanks every day when we pray before a meal, when some of us pray even before we get out of bed in the morning, or before we go to sleep at night.

Every evening, I have my own mini-Thanksgiving – and no, I don’t mean feasting on turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce and all the trimmings. I mean writing in the gratitude journal that I’ve been keeping this year. Much as I love a beautiful meal shared with family and friends and good conversation around the table, I also love my personal sacred pause at the end of each day, jotting down just a few things that I’m thankful for.

Among other things, I’ve written: Grateful for a rich time of worship this morning. Grateful for homemade red lentil soup with smoked paprika and coconut milk. Grateful for connecting with other readers and writers at the Surrey Christian Writers 10^th anniversary celebration. Grateful for a phone call with all three of my sisters at the same time. Grateful for my weekly walk and talk with a good friend.

Now, as I look back in my gratitude journal, I realize that most of the things I’ve listed are physical things: Like nutritious and delicious food. Like a good walk and heart-to-heart talk. Like refreshing rain after days of hot summer sun. As Psalm 111 (CEB) says, “The works of the Lord are magnificent” (v. 2).  “God gives food” (v. 5). “God is famous for his wondrous works” (v. 4). God has blessed us with so many people and so many good things that are part of our physical world. Abundant thanks to our abundant God!

I suppose it’s quite natural for me – and perhaps for all of us – to focus on the people and activities that are part of our physical world. After all, what we can see and hear and touch may be the most immediate for us. But as gifts of God, they point beyond what is seen to the unseen, beyond themselves to the Giver, to the One who loves and cares for us, to the One who provides us with every good gift (James 1:17).

So, while Psalm 111 praises God for providing food which is so physical and tangible, it also praises God “full of mercy and compassion” (v. 4), the God of “honesty and justice” (v.  7), who redeems us, and is “holy and awesome” (v. 9). I can’t say that these less physical qualities have made it into my gratitude journal in the same way as the people and events that fill my days.

But just as I give thanks for the physical and tangible things in my life, I want to give thanks for salvation through Jesus Christ, for God’s love, mercy, and justice, for the Spirit who is ever-present to guide and comfort us. While these might not be as immediately obvious with our physical senses, these spiritual realities are just as real – perhaps even more real? – and worthy of praise. Abundant thanks to our abundant God!

In the original Hebrew, Psalm 111 is an acrostic psalm, with each line starting with a different letter of the alphabet from beginning to end. Going through all of the letters in order was an aid to memorizing the psalm. And it also expressed a sense of completeness, that God had given the ancient people everything – seen and unseen – from aleph to taw. Or, as we might say today for our own time and alphabet, God has given us everything from A to Z, seen and unseen.

God’s abundant giving prompts the psalmist to offer abundant thanks: “I thank the Lord with all my heart” (v. 1). With the psalmist, we, too, can praise God with all our heart, with the fullness of who we are from A to Zed.

Tonight, as I again end my day with my gratitude list, I’ll think of the people I talked with and review the events of my day. I’ll give thanks for the blessings and pray for the needs. And, like Psalm 111, I’ll also look beyond the seen to the unseen, beyond the gifts of this day to the Giver, who is generous and wise, all good and always present. Abundant thanks to our abundant God!

“Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:16–17).

April Yamasaki is a pastor, editor, writer, and spiritual formation mentor. She is the author of Sacred Pauses; Four Gifts; This Ordinary, Extraordinary Life; and other books on living with faith and hope. Her latest book is Hope Beyond Our Sorrows: Learning to Live with Life-Changing Loss. Available in Abbotsford at House of James, Coles Books, and anywhere you buy books online or in person. Learn more at AprilYamasaki.com.