Abounding Water
Whether you imagine Iguazu Falls in South America, Victoria Falls in Zambia, Niagara Falls in New York, or the Laguna hot springs in the Philippines, each gives us a strong image of abounding water that can’t be stopped. Strong, smooth, steady, and striking in their beauty, the abounding flow cannot be held back and rushes over the edge.
Some synonyms for abounding: very plentiful, abundant, considerable, copious, ample, lavish, profuse, boundless, prolific, inexhaustible, generous, galore.
Abounding Thanksgiving
The Apostle Paul once wrote to new believers in a town called Colossae. He had never met them, but as with so many of his letters, he wanted to straighten out their understanding of Christ and then help them see how that would straighten out the way that they lived life. He told them to focus on the foundation:
“Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7
Inexhaustible thankfulness, he said, is an integral part of the very foundation of the Christian life. In one sentence, Paul used four metaphors! The rooting of a tree, the construction of a building, the settlement of a colony, and the overflow of a waterfall.
The word translated “abounding” from the Greek unfortunately has no English equivalent. It means “to super-abound, to be excessive, to go way beyond.”
We’re not talking about something mild, occasional, or comfortable here. Because of the gospel of Christ, we’ve been rescued, ransomed, redeemed, restored, adopted, declared righteous, vested with an inheritance, given a different road, a different Guide, a different purpose, and a different destination.
We need to literally bubble up and burst with thanksgiving, like the bottle of soda you dropped just before the party. The same word is used in 1 Corinthians 15:58 where we are told to always abound in the work of the Lord.
Abounding and You?
A person growing in Christ should be abounding in thanksgiving. This is a basic Christian-life skill. It’s fundamental. So what does that look like for me? Is this something that just happens naturally or do I need to consciously work on thinking thanks in order to abound in thanksgiving? Duty begins with discipline but can end up as a delight.
There can be no doubt that God desires us to be thankful. How about trying to just think of one thing today that you could express thankfulness for to someone?
Drop. Trickle. Flow. Gush!
No one knows how Pharaoh Khufu built his Great Pyramid back in 2560 BC, 500 years before Abraham. It included 2.3 million blocks weighing 20+ tons each. If they finished it in 20 years, that would mean laying a block every 4 minutes, day and night so tightly that you can’t fit a piece of paper between them! It was 480 feet tall, the tallest building in the world for 3800 years.
In other words they are not good bedfellows. One has to leave.
The ‘D’ verse was “Do all things without murmuring and disputings.” (Phil. 2:14).
You refuse to think the grumpy thoughts of complaining and instead exercise your will to think thanks about whatever is in front of you.
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ng thinking thanks takes time. You have to see progress in little steps at a time. Think about that path through the woods. As you step by step conquer the mess, soon the path becomes apparent.
The outside appearance of a box can hide a multitude of things. It is often quite difficult to imagine what is inside. The actual item may be a lot smaller than the box, but the box is filled with tissue paper as a playful deception. That’s part of the giddiness of Christmas giving – concealing the contents, avoiding the predictable. At the appropriate time, however, the lid comes off and what is inside becomes visible.
The Psalmist makes a revealing statement about the righteous person in Ps. 140:13. Someone who loves God and is cleansed by the Lamb, will surely give thanks. They will have a bent towards wanting to be th(i)nkful. It will fit for them and not feel out of place.
There are ways to build thought patterns within our minds to always be on the lookout for what we can think thanks about in every situation – I’ll call them “carving tools.” Carving a groove – creating a mental preoccupation with thankfulness – is a safeguard that can keep our hearts and souls from destruction. There are times when it is easy to identify what to be thankful for, and there are times when being thankful is the last thing you want to be. A cool side benefit of this groove is that as you carve out the brain pattern, it becomes easier and easier to “get in the groove” – to spontaneously recognize the things to be thankful for.
se the tool of choosing to think thanks and then express that thanks orally or in a written form. I put on the “glasses of gratitude” and look at everything around me and in me through those lenses. God has promised that He is sovereign and is going to give me all I need to do His will if I will appropriate that grace (I Cor.10:13).
The Lord IS our Rock, and He wants us to meditate and give thanks for that.
By the way, I love trees. I also love VW bugs; it was the first car I ever owned. As I cruise down the road of life, may I choose to be th(i)nkful about all the carbon that comes my way today. It makes the journey so much more enjoyable.
th(i)nkful 