Grace In, Thanks Out
There are plenty of Scriptures that talk about God’s will. Some sound big and sweeping. Some feel mysterious enough that we might want to phone a friend.
But then there’s this one simple line tucked into 1 Thessalonians: “Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Wait—that’s it? God’s will for my life is as simple as giving thanks in every situation?
And it makes me wonder if there’s more to gratitude than a polite “thank you” prayer before asking someone to pass the turkey, stuffing, and—let’s be honest—the cranberry sauce that only about half the table will actually eat. (Still tastes like holiday nostalgia, though.)
Gratitude and grace share the same root word, which tells us something important: gratitude is the natural response to grace. It’s what happens when grace gets inside us and starts doing what grace does.
Because if you think about it, we owe our entire existence to grace.
We live by grace.
We stand by grace.
We heal by grace.
We survive by grace—sometimes by the thinnest thread.
All of it, grace.
It’s like breathing:
We breathe in grace.
We breathe out thanks.
Then we do it again.
Grace received… gratitude expressed.
A rhythm. A way of being.
And, apparently, God’s will for our lives.
No wonder Meister Eckhart once wrote, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ it will be enough.”
So on this Thanksgiving week, let me say a very heartfelt “thank you” to you—my Asbury family. Thank you for welcoming me this year with kindness and patience and humor. Thank you for the ways you show up for one another. Thank you for being a community where grace flows freely and gratitude grows naturally. I’m grateful to walk this road with you.
From my heart to yours—from my family to yours: Happy Thanksgiving.
May your table be filled with good food, good stories, and good grace. And may gratitude keep shaping us into the people God is calling us to be.
Much love,
Pastor Gregg
