abounding in thanksgiving

Therefore, as you have received Jesus Christ, the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Col. 2:6-7…abounding in thanksgiving. This word abounding means—to exceed a fixed number or measure…overflow unto one.We are being invited into a life of overflowing gratitude. Giving thanks beyond measure! And when I begin the think or pray in thanksgiving for all I have to be thankful for, that’s exactly how it is.It overflows.I can go on and on, one thankful thought leading to another, because He has so richly blessed me. Blessed us. Even in my perceived lack, whatever that may be at the time (prayers that I feel like are unanswered, wishes for things I think I need, etc) I still have much to be thankful for. And its very intriguing to think about because this commission for us to abound in thanksgiving ultimately is for our best good. It is a strong reminder and realignment for our grumbling. Our complaining.The Lord is wooing us into a place that will bring our deepest satisfaction. It’s not a call for Him to be patted on the celestial back because He’s so good, although He totally deserves it and is worthy of it!!! It’s an invitation to intimacy with Him. As we extend gratitude and live in the place of thankfulness it takes us back to the original order of things. Just as Adam walked with God in the garden, as we slip our arm into His, taking a look around at all He has done, all He is doing and all that He is, we are communing with Him.And it’s in this place that we feel most alive!Because our very breath comes from the mouth of God, as we give thanks and praise from our mouths, we are drawn in close enough for His life-giving breath to refill our very beings. And pneuma (the breath of God) can gently penetrate the places of us that we try to keep hidden and protected from exposure.I think you know the places I’m talking about, the parts of us that we grip so tightly. Thoughts, hopes, dreams and fears that we feel like if we don’t hold our breath around them they will fall apart…crumbling to the ground and taking with them our very existence. If they fall apart….we fall apart.Or so we think.But you see, this invitation that Paul, and the Holy Spirit are calling us into, brings the exact opposite. As we inhale the breath of God, especially into those deep, sacred places of ourselves, there is quite literally a coming together that takes place rather than the undoing that we so fear. This wind of God does, in some ways, unravel things but it’s more like a gentle seamstress than a sort of spiritual dynamite. Carefully untangling all of our frantic knot tying that we have used to to try to keep ourselves from coming apart at the seams, making room for Him to put things back together as they were intended to be. Liberated to move. Enlarging, expanding and increasing. Giving freedom for us to become whole, working in harmony together, rather than holding us captive to containment.As we breathe out thanksgiving with the rhythm of our lungs, we exhale truth, making room for grace to make its way in. This cadence of our speech becomes a rhythm of grace and truth, which by it’s very existence eliminates any place for lies. And the fruit of our soul becomes life-giving. The places that begin to smell of rottenness, receive light and become fresh and full of life.God’s call to pour forth words of thanksgiving, encourages our own hearts and those around us. This rhythm invites others into the dance of what it means to be human, communing with the One who made us. Dancing to the tempo of His unending, Divine Love.As I sat at the island in my kitchen this morning, with my Bible laid before me, I didn’t open it looking for places that speak of Thanksgiving because of the fall decorations that surround me, reminding me of what time of year it is. I just stepped back into where Jesus and I left off yesterday and He took me to thanksgiving. And the beauty and wonder of this wonderful word is that we don’t have to wait for November in order to put it into practice. We’ve been given a year long, day by day invitation to live a life of gratitude.Our whole life an invitation to holiday with Him.Are you hurting and broken within, Overwhelmed by the weight of your sinJesus is callingHave you come to the end of yourself, Do you thirst from a drink from the wellJesus is callingO come to the altar, The Father’s arms are open wideForgiveness is bought with the precious blood of Jesus ChristLeave behind your regrets and mistakes, Come today there’s no reason to waitJesus is callingBring your sorrows and trade them for joy, From the ashes a new life is bornJesus is calling(O Come to the Altar, Elevation Worship)