NOVEMBER 27, 2025

  “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity.”

― Melody Beattie

EZEKIEL 38-39

 28Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(39:28-29) 

1 PETER 4

19So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

JOURNAL 

Today as I sit in this Thanksgiving moment I feel a deep sense of gratitude rising in me. Life is good right now. I feel hope. I can see God working in ways that lift my spirit and remind me that His faithfulness never left. Yet I remember very clearly that it was not always this way. There were seasons when joy felt distant. There were days when suffering made no sense and purpose felt hidden. There were moments when I wondered if things would ever come back together. 

I also know there are people around me in that place right now. People who want to believe that their pain has meaning. People who feel overwhelmed or unseen or confused. People who want to trust God but do not know how to make sense of their suffering. I feel a tenderness for them today because while all situations are unique. I know what it feels like to look for God in the dark and fear of despair.

This is where scripture always meets us. Scripture does not speak only to the victorious. It speaks to every human condition. It speaks to joy and loss and longing and confusion and healing. Scripture knows us. Scripture finds us. Scripture holds every part of our story as sacred. Scripture reminds us that nothing is wasted and nothing is outside the reach of God.

This is why standing in your authenticity and your divinity matters so much to faith. Every part of your story, including the painful parts, is touched by the presence of God. The divine is not something we earn. It is something God breathes into us. It is the meeting place where our humanity and His Spirit intertwine. It is the truth that our identity is shaped not by perfection but by surrender and love.

I feel grateful today for the goodness I see. I feel grateful for the hope that has returned. I feel grateful because I know that God was working even when I was breaking. And I feel grateful because I know that for anyone who is suffering today, God is still present and still active and still writing a story that is not finished.

Scripture promises that God gathers every scattered piece of our life. Scripture promises that God pours out His Spirit and refuses to leave any part of us behind. Scripture promises that when we entrust our souls to our faithful Creator we will find strength to continue doing good. And scripture promises that joy will rise even out of the places that once felt empty.

This is the heart of Thanksgiving. Gratitude for what is good today. Gratitude for the God who carried me when things were not good. Gratitude for the hope that remains even in suffering. Gratitude for the divine presence that sits inside every chapter of our story.

16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

EPHESIANS 3:16-19