Isaiah 32-33
Colossians 1
“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving...” —1 Timothy 4:4
How big is our thanksgiving? Some of us may pray before a meal that we are about to enjoy and give thanks to God for it. But does our thanksgiving to God encompass all of creation? When we study Genesis 1 in detail, we will notice a pattern. God created over six days and on the seventh day, He rested. Over those six days, God said, “Let there be...” whatever He was creating on that day, “and there was...and it was good.” As we connect Genesis 1 with the opening verse of this devotion—for everything God created is good and is to be received with thanksgiving—then our thanksgiving should have a much deeper meaning.
Over the six days, God created light, day and night on day one; sea and sky on day two; land, seed bearing plants and fruit bearing trees on day three; the stars, the sun and the moon on day four; sea life and birds on day five; livestock, insects, beasts and humans on day six. Then He rested on the seventh day.
When was the last time that we looked at God’s creation of light, water, trees, the stars, the moon, fruits, vegetables and animals and gave thanks to Him? God created man and woman for relationship and family; the first full day of mankind was enjoyed with God in rest. When was the last time we took a Sabbath day of rest and just enjoyed God for who He is, not what we want from Him, but simply worship and praise Him for who He is?
The word for “thanksgiving” in Greek is eucharistia, which is also where we derive the word Eucharist from, or Lord’s Supper or Communion. Most churches gather to celebrate Communion once a month, remembering all that Jesus has done. In those moments, we eucharistia—we give thanks. When we let creation speak to us, it captures us into a moment of thanksgiving. We start to see
that all of our life should be moments of praise and worship for who God is because nothing He created is bad; it is good. By the time we finish admiring the beauty of God’s creation, He becomes much bigger and our issues become much smaller. Creation has a way of right-sizing our challenges.
This Thanksgiving as we sit with our family around the table, listen to music, look at art and laugh together, recognize that it is a sacred moment because everything God created is good if we receive it with eucharistia. How big is our thanksgiving?
Lord Heavenly Father, thank You for creating this marvelous world, this vast universe. I thank You for all the blessings I have received. You are good. Praise You!
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