Week 4 Thankful With Extravagant Love

This week we focused on thanking the Lord. I loved the beginning quote by O. Hallesby “Having received something from God, it is self-evident that we ought to return thanks to Him for it.” I think what stood out to me this week was the fact that Jesus notices when we say thank you. Our heart of thanksgiving touches His heart. Jesus made a big deal out of the one leper who turned around to run back and say thank you. He asked him where the other 9 were. Then Jesus said, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” Jesus called the leper’s thank-you and expression of faith. And then I cannot help but think about the woman with the alabaster jar of expensive perfume who anointed Jesus’ feet as an expression of extravagant love and devotion. Jesus loved her extravagance and made a sermon of her love to a house full of Pharisees. Finally, I learned that I need to look at each new day as a delightful surprise rather than a disappointment. Things may not go the way I expect, but they are going according to God’s plan. I thank the Lord for the promise that He “will accomplish what concerns me…” (Psalm 138:8). I rest on those words today.