Powerful Thanksgiving

“With power you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.” (Psalm 77:15)

One of the great motivations for thanksgiving is the redemptive power of God. He is table to take any situation and bring His redemptive power to bear on it, bringing victory out of disaster.

We see this in the life of Jacob. Jacob fled from his brother Esau because he deceived their father, Isaac, obtaining Esau’s blessing through false pretenses. Esau vowed to kill Jacob, so Jacob thus “reaped the whirlwind,” so to speak. He departed and went far away to his mother’s clan, and he met God along the way. God redeemed Jacob. He blessed him and ultimately restored him to his brother and to his homeland. For that, Jacob gave thanks.

We see this further in Jacob’s son, Joseph. Joseph was beaten within an inch of his life then sold to Midianite traders, who sold him as a slave in Egypt. Although falsely charged, Joseph ended up in prison, but he never gave up on his trust in God. Ultimately, God redeemed Joseph and through giving him the ability to interpret dreams lifted him to the second position of authority in Egypt below Pharaoh. God used Joseph to preserve the lives of people. For that, Joseph gave thanks.

We see God’s redemptive power in the Israelites as well in the exodus. They were by then a rag-tag horde of people unprepared for war or desert life, but God redeemed them from Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh and from the ravages of the wilderness. He took their situation and brought ultimate blessing to them. For that, Israel gave thanks.

Give thanks to God for His redemptive power, graphically displayed on the cross of Calvary.

Lord, We thank You for Your redemptive power. You have taken our disasters and have redeemed us beyond imagination. For that, we give thanks. Amen.