“Then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” ~ Deuteronomy 8:17
REFERENCE:
Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” At this halfway mark of the year, it is possible to look back and fail to see the invisible hand of God in sustaining and bringing you to this point. You can look at things you achieved, the money you made, exams you passed, deals you closed, a job you began, etc., and give yourself a nod, but God says it is not by your power.
Moses warned Israel not to attribute God’s blessings to their power or ability. It is worrisome to think that, despite the unusual miracles chronicled in our text – fountains and springs, barley and wheat, olive and honey, surplus bread, beautiful houses, large cattle herd, silver, and gold, etc., Moses worried that Israel could forget it came from God. Thanksgiving is not about what God has done for you but how well you can remember them.
You may look back at the last six months and think nothing much has happened, but remember how God has sustained your family of four with your meager income, supplying your needs and keeping you healthy so you don’t use the money to nurse an illness. It is not by your power that you got a scholarship to school abroad or that you excel in subjects other students struggle with; it is God. You got good deals, discounts, waivers, and sometimes unmerited gifts. It is all God!
I remember the story of a family whose little boy took ill while on vacation in the UK some years ago. After admission and treatment at the hospital, their bill came to Sixteen Thousand pounds (£16,000). They miraculously got a complete waiver on their bill. That was God at work! You need to look back and realize that it is not by your power that you are where you are today.
Remember when you could not pay your rent? God rained ‘manna’ by sending you that nice financial gift. Have you forgotten how you worried about raising money for your wedding or how your business got duped, but God saw you through? God has given you privileges nobody in your family has had. It is not by your power; it is because God favored you. So, in this last week of the year’s first half, “You don’t have any reason not to be thankful to God.”
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL STUDY:
Psalm 105:5, Zechariah 4:6, and Psalm 92:1-2
TO DO:
Reflect on every occasion that God supernaturally supplied your need in the last six months, write it down, lay it before Him, or wave it to Him in gratitude as a memorial of your thanksgiving.
