Abounding in Thanksgiving

What does it mean to abound?

As I read over Colossians 2, the end of verse 7 jumped out at me: “abounding in thanksgiving.” A picture of overflow comes to mind, like a cup that is running over or laughter that spills out uncontrollably. 

Can you envision what that would look like in your life? 

Day in and day out abounding in thanksgiving. Whether the day was good or bad, easy or hard, thanksgiving overflows. It is almost like with every breath you say “thanks.” 

But how could this be our everyday?

Let’s look back earlier in verses 6 and 7. We received Jesus as Lord, which leads to walking in Him, being rooted and built up in Him, being established in the faith. When our foundation and our identity are rooted in Christ, the circumstances that come do not hold as much weight. We are rooted deeply. Called to abound in thanksgiving.

And thanksgiving changes things. It literally shifts the atmosphere. But that shouldn’t surprise us because Jesus came to bring His kingdom into our hearts and lives. And His kingdom doesn’t function like we would expect it to. 

I don’t know about you, but abounding in thanksgiving is not how I normally walk about my days, but I am catching a glimpse of how beautiful that would be. Breathe in, breathe out “thanks.” Let’s settle into this calling of abounding in thanksgiving and watch how the Lord shifts our perspective and our reality.

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