It can be tempting to squeeze all of our thanksgiving into the time it takes to eat one meal on the fourth Thursday in November each year. But at World Relief, we meet men and women from around the world who are quick to give thanks as they witness transformation in their lives, their families and their entire communities.
Following their example, we give thanks today, long before the holiday officially begins later this month. We give thanks because we see God’s hand moving powerfully through the local church, pushing back the darkness of injustice.
We give thanks because God uses each of us despite our brokenness to serve our neighbors here in the US and around the world.
We give thanks because we see the church breaking down the cycle of poverty, despair and injustice and replacing it with a new pattern of thanksgiving, restoration and hope.
As you prepare for this season of thanksgiving, we pray you will see the blessings around you, in your own city and in places across the globe. This month, rejoice with us as we think about our brothers and sisters throughout the world who give thanks for the transformation they’ve experienced because of God and His church.
This month we will be featuring stories of thanksgiving: meet a young boy whose health and eternal life were forever changed, a woman whose struggling marriage was strengthened, a mother whose precious child was saved from a deadly disease, and a farmer whose despair was converted to hope.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. – Colossians 3:17