As we move closer to Thanksgiving, I want to invite you into a short devotional series I’m calling “Ruled by Gratitude.” Each week leading up to Thanksgiving Day, we’ll reflect on what it means to let our hearts, homes, and church be shaped by thankfulness.
My prayer is that these devotionals will steady your soul in a noisy world — that they’ll help you slow down, remember God’s goodness, and see that gratitude is not a season we enter, but a posture we live in.
Let’s begin this week with a simple yet searching reminder:
Week 1 — Remember the Lord Your God
Deuteronomy 8:10–14 “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them… then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God.”
The Danger of Forgetfulness
When Israel stood on the edge of blessing, God gave them a warning: Don’t forget. It’s not hard to remember God when you’re desperate. It’s when life gets comfortable that we forget who carried us there. Moses told the people that gratitude isn’t just a feeling, it’s an act of remembering — remembering who saved you, who sustained you, and who gave you everything you have.
Forgetfulness is spiritual amnesia. It erases grace and replaces it with pride. It makes us think we’re self-made when, in truth, we’re mercy-fed. Every bite of bread, every answered prayer, every breath of life — all of it comes from His hand.
The Blessing of Remembrance
When we remember the Lord, gratitude rises naturally. We don’t have to force it or fake it — it flows from seeing reality rightly. God is the Giver and we are the receivers. Thanksgiving begins not with a feast, but with faith. It’s when we look back and see His faithful hand in every step.
So, take a moment this week — around the supper table, in the quiet of your car, or during your morning coffee — to name His mercies. Name them one by one. Then bless the Lord for all He has done.
A Prayer for the Week (in the spirit of The Valley of Vision)
O Fountain of All Good,
Every gift I enjoy flows from Thy hand.
Keep me from the blindness of plenty
and the pride that forgets the Giver.
Teach me to trace each joy back to Thy grace,
to bless Thee when my heart is full,
and to trust Thee when my hands are empty.
Let remembrance rule my thoughts,
thanksgiving rule my tongue,
and Christ rule my heart —
for Thy glory and my gladness.
Amen.
May this week be filled with reminders of His faithfulness — and may gratitude rule your heart!