Give Thanks
October 5, 2025 at 12:00 a.m.
I was on a retreat a few weekends ago and one of the reflection/small group questions was Have I (regularly) encountered God’s love personally? It was written just like that. And as I began to reflect I got hung up on the (regularly) part of it. I know that God loves me, I know that I have encountered God’s love before, but do regularly encounter it? What does that look like? I have had holy moments on a retreat where my heart burns within me and I am overwhelmed and moved to tears. I have had prayers answers in the form of an apartment to move into after I got married that we could afford while we serve the Lord in Youth Ministry. I have had quiet powerful moments with the Lord in an empty Church bringing peace in making a big decision. I have encountered God in the beauty of His creation at the summit of a hike overlooking the snowcapped mountains of Montana. But do I regularly encounter God’s love personally?
In my small group we discussed this and our agreed upon answer was that God is loving us personally on a regular and daily basis, but we need to open our hearts and minds and become more attune to these moments and encounters. The way to do this – give thanks.
In the Gospel for Sunday Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one returns to give Him glory and thanks. Maybe God isn’t healing you from leprosy daily, but He is loving you daily. Are you returning to Him each night to give Him glory and thanks for the blessings that He is giving you? Are you one of the nine who was blessed and carried on in life without another thought? Or are you the one who knows where your blessings come from, who “returned glorifying God with a loud voice.” I know who I want to be.
My challenge to you this week is to reflect each night on your day and look for all the ways that you regularly encountered God’s love personally, then give glory to God.
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I was on a retreat a few weekends ago and one of the reflection/small group questions was Have I (regularly) encountered God’s love personally? It was written just like that. And as I began to reflect I got hung up on the (regularly) part of it. I know that God loves me, I know that I have encountered God’s love before, but do regularly encounter it? What does that look like? I have had holy moments on a retreat where my heart burns within me and I am overwhelmed and moved to tears. I have had prayers answers in the form of an apartment to move into after I got married that we could afford while we serve the Lord in Youth Ministry. I have had quiet powerful moments with the Lord in an empty Church bringing peace in making a big decision. I have encountered God in the beauty of His creation at the summit of a hike overlooking the snowcapped mountains of Montana. But do I regularly encounter God’s love personally?
In my small group we discussed this and our agreed upon answer was that God is loving us personally on a regular and daily basis, but we need to open our hearts and minds and become more attune to these moments and encounters. The way to do this – give thanks.
In the Gospel for Sunday Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one returns to give Him glory and thanks. Maybe God isn’t healing you from leprosy daily, but He is loving you daily. Are you returning to Him each night to give Him glory and thanks for the blessings that He is giving you? Are you one of the nine who was blessed and carried on in life without another thought? Or are you the one who knows where your blessings come from, who “returned glorifying God with a loud voice.” I know who I want to be.
My challenge to you this week is to reflect each night on your day and look for all the ways that you regularly encountered God’s love personally, then give glory to God.