The Treasure Of Thrown-away Food

The Treasure of Thrown-Away Food

Lysa TerKeurst

If there was ever a secret for unleashing God’s powerful peace, it’s developing a heart of true thanksgiving. I came to understand this truth while reading a paper written by my son Jackson.

He wrote about the corruption and greed that caused the civil war in his native land. You see, for the first thirteen years of his life, Jackson lived in a forgotten orphanage in Liberia. As I read, I was impressed with the great job he had done recounting the facts of what had happened. But what made the facts so compelling was that Jackson wasn’t just reciting the details of an historical event—he was recounting his experience of living through the horrific conditions of this war.

At one point, Jackson described what it felt like to be naked, digging through the trash for the treasure of thrown-away food.

The treasure of thrown-away food.

I can hardly type those words without crying. This is my son.

And yet, despite the horrific conditions of his childhood, there was an inexplicable thread of peace woven through his story. It was a powerful peace centered in the awareness of God’s presence.

Truly thankful people are truly peaceful people. They have made it a habit to notice, pause, and choose. They notice everything they can be thankful for no matter what their circumstances. They pause to acknowledge each thing as a reminder of God’s presence with them. They choose to focus on God’s presence until His powerful peace is unleashed in their hearts.

How can we be noticers, pausers, and choosers? Women of thanksgiving no matter what circumstance we’re facing?

I find this truth about the power of thanksgiving over and over in Scripture. What was the prayer Daniel prayed right before being thrown in the lions’ den and witnessing God miraculously shutting the lions’ mouths? Thanksgiving.

After three days in the belly of a fish, what was the cry of Jonah’s heart right before he was finally delivered onto dry land? Thanksgiving.

How does the apostle Paul instruct us to pray when we feel anxious (Philippians 4:6)? With thanksgiving.

And what is the outcome of each of these situations in which thanksgiving is proclaimed? Peace. Powerful, inexplicable, uncontainable peace.

One of Webster’s official definitions of thanksgiving is: “a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness.” I wonder how we might celebrate God’s divine goodness today? I wonder what might happen if we decide in the midst of our circumstances today to notice, pause, and choose something for which we can truly be thankful.

Dear Lord, I ask You to help me notice things for which I can be thankful in each circumstance I face today. Please help me to pause and acknowledge each gift as evidence of Your presence. Help me to choose to focus on Your presence until Your powerful peace rushes into my heart and helps me see everything more clearly. Thank You for the reality that gratitude truly changes everything. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

REMEMBER

Truly thankful people are truly peaceful people. They have made it a habit to notice, pause, and choose.

REFLECT

What do you notice around you in this moment that you are thankful for?

RESPOND

Commit today to keeping a thirty-day gratitude journal. Beginning today, list five things for which you are thankful.

POWER VERSES

1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 Chronicles 23:30